LISNews: Librarian News

The Port Jefferson Library has come to the rescue of Good Times Bookshop, which closed down after 34 years of bookselling in this Suffolk county town.

Rather than let an era of erudition be replaced by run-of-the-mill retail, the library leased the space that once housed Good Times and plans to continue a treasured tradition in tomes. By June, the now-bookless bookshop and its creaky floorboards will be resurrected as a library-run, library-funded bookstore and young adult information station. More from The New York Daily News.

Friends of Libraries USA (FOLUSA) informs us, "There's still time to tell us how "Libraries Transform Communities" for a chance to win $1,000 for your library! Entries are due January 2, 2007. Get the word out to your members and patrons today!" Contest rules here..., the first one being "no purchase necessary!"

Bookmans (used books and media) in Tucson and other AZ locations have 80,000 popular fiction titles in their warehouse -- more than they can sell. They are willing to donate these books to a Friends group (or, perhaps, more than one), and perhaps even share the cost of shipping. If your Friends group would be interested in these books, please contact Sheila at 520-881-1744 x112 or email her at sheilak@bookmans.com.

Eugene, OR is having its 28th annual Friends of the Library Booksale, and like most large FOL sales, it's a hectic business at best, a battleground at worst.

Register Guard describes the tension mounting as the opening moment approaches: "See the buyers, some who'd waited all night, clutching empty cardboard boxes, plastic bins, duffel bags and rolling suitcases, waiting eagerly as the minutes tick closer to the appointed hour. Watch as the doors open at 8:55 a.m., and the book lovers and dealers come rushing in, running to the book-laden tables, as a volunteer yells, unheeded, "Don't run! Don't run! Don't run!"

Step aside as buyers swarm the neatly stacked books, grabbing handfuls without checking titles, shoving them into boxes, then skidding them along the smooth concrete floor to designated holding areas. Then doing it all over again."

It's a huge amount of work for the Friends, sometimes resulting in a significant profit for the library, sometimes not. Used book dealers are usually welcome, though are often looked at with a jaundiced eye.