Summer 2014 - Friends of Tompkins County Public Library Book Sale

Volunteer
Newsletter
August 2014
A New Look at 509 Esty St.
The remodeling of the book
sale building was completed
just in time for the spring
sale, much to the relief of
the coordinators.
Barbara DiSalvo described the
new Collector’s Corner: “The expansion in the Collector’s Corner has had
so many positive effects it’s really exciting. We’ve gained about 100 more feet
of shelf space together with the center
island of shelves that allows us to display books to their greatest advantage.
The new, much larger locked case, positioned opposite the door as you enter,
has generated more interest than ever
before in our most special items. We’ve
added a gift section which has been a
real hit and the new “art corner” allows us to hang prints. Regular customers have remarked about the bright
and cheery feel and everyone has enjoyed having more elbow room when
shopping. We’re now able to accommodate ten rather than seven shoppers
at a time.
The new room also provides the
volunteers who do the searching and
pricing a more comfortable space,
with easily accessible storage. And we
have our own air conditioner!!! We
don’t even miss the window.
Every sale provides wonderful
surprises in the kinds of items donated.
For the spring sale we had several 18th
century Revolutionary War speeches, a great collection of vintage R&B
LPs (vinyl records), a complete set of
the Dictionary of National Biography, a volume of Audubon’s original
Ornithological Biography printed in
Edinburgh in 1831, and a 1920’s album of photographs of Baghdad. We
have seen an increase in the donation
of electronic media, especially video
games, some of which have achieved
“collectible” status.”
As a result of the improvements,
sales in Collector’s Corner were the
highest since Barbara has been keeping records.
The new wall spaces outside Collector’s Corner now make it possible to
display posters-- in the past
having them rolled up in bins
has been not at all satisfactory. Mike Schultz ensured
that, as a poster sold, a new
one was put up in its place.
Everyone enjoyed looking
at such posters as the almost
life-size Mr. Hudson (Upstairs- Downstairs), or at the
antique map of Ithaca.
Volunteers and shoppers both enjoy the new spaciousness of Collector’s Corner
Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library
The new locked case – courtesy of
Cornell Veterinary School renovations – displays special treasures.
SPRING SALE STATISTICS
Books and other items: 282,386, 80% sold, 48,993 unsold
Attendance: 15,182, – down 200 from past several years
Total sale profits: $235,067 - 2nd best spring sale ever
180 volunteers worked 12,229 hours
Student Night-125-Continues to grow!
Collector’s Corner: $20,568
Quilt raffle so far: $1,616
more statistics p. 2
Inside this issue:
A New Look
Coordinators
Cookbooks
New $100 Membership
M.H.Abrams In Memoriam
Cooincidences, coincidences
Fun at the Book Sale
Anecdotes
The Book Sorter
Photo Gallery 1
3
4
6
7
7
8
9
6,10
11
12
www.booksale.org
Booksale Volunteer Newsletter
2
Thanks for All Your Hard
Work!
There has been a recent change
in the coordinator staff – Nancy
Cool has come on board to take
the place of Connie Wilcox.
The wonderful new Collector’s Corner was the result of hours of hard work and creative thinking.
Planning started before the fall 2013 sale and work continued until almost the last moment before the spring sale opened.
Beryl and Clare were the major planners and supervisors with
Clare doing most of the initial work such as getting the building
permit and quotes together. The actual construction was mostly
done by Bill Apgar and Chuck Plant who put in hours-- hours and
hours.
Thanks are due to others who were more than helpful.
Fingerlakes Reuse gave us a 25% discount on items purchased from them (doors, insulation, odds and ends).
Halco Plumbers discovered that extra concrete had to be removed when they took out the old plumbing-- they donated the
new concrete needed.
Richardson Electric were tremendously helpful in adjusting
their visits to our schedule and gave a discount on some totally
unexpected extra jobs.
Finally, thanks to Mary, the city of Ithaca building inspector,
who was very pleasant to work with.
Bill and Chuck at the opening of the freight gate on the
new mezzanine over the new bathrooms.
SPRING SALE STATISTICS
(continued from p.1)
Barbara DiSalvo, Beryl Barr, Frances Fawcett, and Clare Greene
cutting the ribbon
And Thanks to the Coordinators
Books taken by all libraries & ICSD before the
sale: 3,062
Total Books taken by TCPL all year to date: 1,186
Reuse sale took 2,081 unsold VHS tapes
Salvation Army took 4,005 unsold records
Teacher Preacher Day: 1,463 items taken
Sections selling 90% or more
Anthropology
Biology
Sections selling 100%
Business
DVD videos
Childrens
Puzzle & game bks.
100 Best novels
Encyclopedias
Pre-20th C. novels
Comics & graphic Inspiration
novels
Maps
Music CDs
Philosophy
Vintage books
Puzzles & games
Science Fiction
Trade paperbacks
Connie has been an effective assistant coordinator for a number of
years, but has now moved on to Collector’s Corner to become second-in-command, or as Barbara calls her – “my
right hand woman.” Before becoming
a coordinator Connie did primary sorting. Previously she was a Special-Ed.
teacher.
As the new assistant coordinator,
Nancy Cool has taken over Connie’s
numerous responsibilities including
buying or ordering everything needed
to keep the sale going – from coffee and
chocolate to office and bathroom supplies and hardware. Nancy has been a
volunteer for 16 years, first in HC fiction and for the last 13 years in Childrens where she will continue. For many
years Nancy was the Manager of Custodial Building Care at Cornell.
Beryl Barr has served as coordinator and co-coordinator several times
since she joined the sale eleven years
ago. She has also been President of
the Board. As reported in the newsletter five years ago Beryl has previously
held a variety of jobs from elementary
school teacher to “roustabout” on a
sheep shearing crew in her native New
Zealand. Beryl does mostly supervision
outside the office-- training of volunteers, decisions on section locations
etc., etc., etc.
Clare Greene has been with the
book sale for several years. She was an
assistant coordinator working with Peg
Lacey and is now co-coordinator with
Beryl. Previously she was an Adminis-
trator at the University of California at
Santa Cruz.
The description of Clare’s major
role in planning and carrying out the
renovations (as described in the previous article) gives a good idea of the
wide range of her responsibilities in
the co-coordinator job. As can be seen
from this description Clare does all
kinds of research and deals with most
of the businesses, agencies, and individuals. She and Sarah share the other
computer based responsibilities – for
example they both answer emails.
Sarah Hatcher is a long time
assistant coordinator. She is usually to
be found at the computer dealing with
yet another book sale problem. Sarah
is responsible for record keeping, statistics, and the website, and Twitter.
One day I said to her that she deserves recognition for everything that
she does; Sarah replied that she doesn’t
want it. A volunteer, who had overheard the conversation, told her “But
you already have it. I recognize you.
You’re Sarah!” Before her retirement
Sarah was a librarian at Beverly J. Martin and Cayuga Heights Schools.
The group of four coordinators is
a highly efficient team, each with her
own special skills and responsibilities. All of the coordinators sometimes serve
as Shift Chair, but this position is also
filled by several other knowledgeable
well-trained volunteers.
And finally – the person without
whom the Book Sale operation would
grind to a halt. Rich is not a coordinator but he is unofficially known as
“Lord High Every Thing Else”. He
started working in the fall of 1997 –
how did we ever manage before?
Nancy Cool
Connie Wilcox
Sarah Hatcher
Overheard During Construction
Excellent poster display space outside the new Collector’s Corner
“Before the spring sale I heard Barbara DiSalvo
call out from the Collector’s Corner’s new construction, “We have a sagging problem here.”
Bill Apgar responded without missing a beat
from outside the area “Don’t we all!” Cracked
me up at the time.”
~ Nancy Sorrells
Co-coordinators Clare Greene and Beryl Barr – talking on the
phone is a big part of the job!
www.booksale.org
Beryl & Connie at the sorting party on August 12 –
laughing is also a big part of the job!
3
Booksale Volunteer Newsletter
The old classics – still going strong – take
up most of one bay
4
COOKBOOKS
Customers always find their way back to the cookbook section. Many say “I don’t really need another cookbook,”
but then they browse and buy three or four or more. As a
result about 90% of the section always sells.
Books by and about celebrity chefs
fly off the shelves
Attitudes about food and health and
the availability of all sorts of food have
changed enormously over the past
20 years. Books donated reflect these
changes, with more dealing with fresh
foods, food in other cultures, world
nourishment, and special diets for
those with specific illnesses or allergies.
Some are in mint condition; others,
probably owned by food lovers, show
considerate wear.
The 12 bays in the section contain more than 3,500 books, and
4,000-6,000 are available in storage
for re-shelving. In addition to standard
cookbooks there are guides for baking,
preserving, entertaining, wine making,
bar tending – all kinds of international
cooking – and many more. There isn’t
a bookstore anywhere that provides so
many cookbooks or such a variety of
topics!
Classic books such as Joy of Cooking, Family Farmer and Betty Crocker, and
books by famous chefs and food personalities continue to be extremely
popular. Vegetarian books are in demand, and Moosewood cookbooks sell
out the first day!
The section layout was designed
by Jane Dieckman in 1996 and is designed to make desired books easy to
find. Each of the four workers manages up to five bays, rotating every few
years in order to stay familiar with the
entire section.
Rough sorting of incoming boxes
requires a tremendous team effort. Fol-
lowing each sale leftovers are carefully
reviewed to determine which types of
items will not be offered in future sales.
The Cookbooks’ team of workers
is a highly experienced group:
Peg Lacey joined the group as
head in 2005. She also served as the
Book Sale Coordinator in 2011. In her
life outside the book sale she directed
dining services and student activities for
35 years at various universities. She is
currently active in the SPCA, serves on
the Hospitality Board for SUNY Delhi and is on the Hospitality Advisory
Board for SUNY Delhi.
Jane Dieckman has been with
Cookbooks for more than twenty years.
She has volunteered at the Book Sale
since the Calendar Clock days. Jane has
written eight cookbooks and two local
history books while contributing to several others, and for the past forty years
has worked in book publishing as an
editor and indexer.
Nancy Leeming has lived in
Ithaca since 1968, the year she first began volunteering for the Friends, and
has worked in Cookbooks for over 20
years. She was on the Friends Board
when the Esty Street building was purchased. She has also been involved with
the History Center, Lifelong, P.E.O.
and various school PTA’s.
Kathy Lalonde joined the team
this year. However, she and her family
have been long-time Book Sale customers. She said that the school holiday in
the fall was always the occasion for a
trip to the book sale – a much anticipated event. Kathy also sorts Self-Help.
The skills and hard work of these
four have made the cookbook section
one of the most successful and popular
sections at the Book Sale.
While cookbooks fans will want
to look through all the shelves, here are
some highlights by bays: (There are far
too many categories to list)
1) CLASSICS – Better Homes &
Gardens, Boston Cooking School
2) FAMOUS CHEFS – CELEBRITIES: Martha Stewart, James Beard,
Julia Childs
3,4) VINTAGE – The First Ladies Cookbook, The Mystery Chefs Cookbook
1934
5) TYPES OF COOKING –
MEAT, SEAFOOD, CHEESE, WINE:
Diabetes cookbooks – most popular of the special diet books.
www.booksale.org
Kathy Lalonde, Peg Lacey, Jane Dieckman, and Nancy Leeming
Toward the end of the sale there is no shortage of handsome
cookbooks, and much more space to attractively display them.
Popular cooking periodicals also sell well.
Interesting titles
abound . . .
Brandies and Liquors of the World, 125 Best
Soups
6) PASTA, BAKING, DESSERTS – Beard on Bread, A Month of Sundaes
7,8) VEGETARIAN, VEGETABLES, HERBS AND SPICES – Vegan
Cooking for Carnivores, Molly Katzen and
Moosewood
9,10) ETHNIC – Savor the Flavor
of Oregon, Amish Cooking, Classic Turkish
Cooking
11) EASY AND BUDGET
COOKING – Crock Pot Cookery, Too Busy
to Cook?
12) ENTERTAINING, GIFTS
AND CANNING – In a Pickle or a Jam
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Booksale Volunteer Newsletter
6
The New $100-Membership Category
The Friends Board of Directors in Fall 2013 approved a new
membership category of $100, which entitles admission to a
special pre-sale prior to each book sale.
The $100 membership pre-sale occurs
after the regular and alternate volunteer pre-sales, and purchases are limited to 25 books or items during a onehour period. This new pre-sale was
first offered for the Spring 2014 book
sale. The idea was identified through
the Best Practices Committee, a ”best
practice” employed by other Friends
groups around the country for boosting membership and increasing revenues to support community programs.
This sign was placed on the outside
of the Esty Street building so people
waiting in line during the Fall 2013 sale
were aware of the new opportunity.
The recommendation was considered by the Membership Committee, which then formulated a basic proposal for the Board of Directors. The
proposal received thorough discussion
by the Board and after some reservations was approved unanimously. De-
ANECDOTES
FROM CHILDREN’S
Toddlers (more or less 1 ½ – 2 ½ year
olds) are probably at the most delightful
(and sometimes difficult) age of childhood. Frequently there are frantic races
to the bathroom at the far corner of
the sale from Children’s. But at this sale
there was a puddle in the middle of the
section. Jan Shay, an occasional worker
in Children’s, cheerfully volunteered to
clean it up (Jan has been a long time
helper in Pre-Kindergartens so she has
had plenty of experience at the job).
If only there had been a camera to record this incident – a boy approached a little girl his own size, saying to his mother “I want to hug her.”
tails were worked out to reflect the concerns of some Board members over the
perceived inequity of allowing those
who can afford to pay for access to a
pre-sale an opportunity not available to
those who cannot afford it, as well as
concerns about favoring dealers. The
$100 threshold, the 25-book limit, the
one-hour period, and scheduling on
Tuesday before the first Saturday to
moderate dealer participation, were all
designed to address the equity issues
while also meeting the objectives of increasing membership and raising new
funds to put more books in the hands
of more people, especially those who
cannot afford brand new books.
Here are some highlights from the
Spring 2014 $100-membership presale:
• Approximately 39 people joined
the Friends at the new $100 level,
generating $3,900 in new revenues to
support Friends grants and programs.
Some were book dealers, but many
were new individual members. Some
renewing members also opted for the
new $100 level.
• A few sections required significant restocking (e.g. cookbooks), but
in general the selection of desirable
first-day purchases was not materially
diminished due to the limits placed on
the new pre-sale. First day lines were
His mother answered, “Why don’t you
just give her a little pat,” at which point
the girl took initiative and gave him a
forceful hug which he returned.
Audio tapes hardly sell at all. A
Sketch by Rebecca Parker
no shorter than usual.
• Although some volunteers and
members of the community expressed
concerns over the inequity they perceive
between “haves” and have-nots” under
the new policy, there appears to be no
evidence that first-day shoppers were
disadvantaged.
• The number of books sold at
the new pre-sale was relatively small
compared to the sum of the number
of books pre-selected by TCPL and the
number purchased during the volunteers’ two pre-sales.
• The new pre-sale was orderly,
gave individuals sufficient time to make
25 selections, dealers were able to select
preferred books (textbooks particularly)
with less friction than on the first Saturday morning, and the one-hour limit
effectively precluded dealer ‘scouting’ in
addition to purchases (and scanning was
prohibited).
Overall, the Board considers the
new policy to be a success, with the benefits of increased membership and additional funds raised for the community
outweighing the few concerns expressed.
Importantly, consonant with the formal
mission of the Friends, the new policy
addresses two key strategies adopted by
the Board to realize the newly approved
Vision: increasing membership and
funding. The initial new memberships
entitle purchasers access to the new presale for a year, including the Fall 2014
sale. The Board will monitor results
during the Fall sale, and with more data
will continue to assess the new membership category’s effectiveness along with
any continuing concerns.
mother told her child when he picked
one up – “Those are OLD, we can’t
play them.” The reply, “I’M going to
play this when I’M OLD!”
Another young child picked out a
hard page baby book and walked away
hugging it, with the comment “I’m going to keep THIS book FOREVER!”
A small girl – dressed up as the
Queen of the May, came into the Childrens section carrying a bouquet of
dandelions which she then scattered
one at a time over the floor – fortunately her mother picked them up for her.
M. H. Abrams Special Collection Featured
at Spring 2014 Sale
M. H. Abrams taught English
and literary criticism at Cornell
University for 38 years, beginning
in 1945. As professor emeritus, he
continued to deliver public talks, academic lectures and, at the age of 100,
published his eighth book, The Fourth
Dimension of a Poem. One of the most
eminent literary critics of his time,
Mike Abrams’ specialty was the English romantic poets. He was the founding editor of the Norton Anthology
of English Literature, and the author
of the ubiquitous A Glossary of Literary Terms. His book The Mirror and the
Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical
Tradition ranks No. 25 on the Modern
Library’s list of the 100 best nonfiction
books written in English in the 20th
century.
At the Spring 2014 book sale, the
Literary Criticism section sorted by
Nathan Fawcett featured a special section containing many volumes of M.
H. Abrams’ personal scholarly book
collection. Over 20 boxes of his books
were donated to the Friends, and the
collection was housed in a full-length
book case against the wall between the
two new bathroom doors. Many books
contained Abrams’ annotations in the
margins and, in some cases, copies of
letters he had written to the authors.
The collection provided insights into
his scholarly interests and processes.
For example, there was a selection of
books on the topic of evaluating evidence – some legal, some scientific, and
some literary – which he presumably
studied to hone his skill at educing literary evidence to support his critical conclusions. The collection also contained
volumes on: romantic poetry and literature, poetic forms and techniques,
the history of literary criticism, the
practice of literary criticism, books by
critic colleagues, and many individual
authors, primarily romantic, among
other topics.
Between the two new bathroom doors
seems to be a good spot for the special
collections book case!
All but two books in the collection
sold! The Friends are indebted to Professor Abrams and the Cornell English
Department for the donation of this
special collection.
~ Nathan Fawcett
In Memoriam
In the past year members of the Friends have been saddened by the loss of
four retired long-time volunteers.
Wilma Brown
1942 - 5/12/2014
Regina Thompson
8/07/19- 5/18/14
Wilma sorted the music section. Peter Fraissenet (sp?) reFor many years Regina sorted the
members her “Even though her musical interests were clasHistory section, an efficient and
sical she had a respect for traditional music of the type I
knowledgeable worker, and was Presenjoy and would bring photos of performers for me to see.
ident for one year. She suggested that
She took great pride in repairing tattered sheet music so it
any memorial contributions should
would be saleable.” Wilma was often accompanied by her
be made to the Friends. Regina had
German shepherd who would patiently nap in the car while
wide spread interests outside the
she worked. She gardened, raised chickens and goats and,
book sale – from opera to herbs to
as a member of the local Friends congregations worked
double-crostics – to mention just a
tirelessly in the cause of peace.
few. She particularly enjoyed cooking and finding new books
in the Cookbook section.
Barney Unsworth
1922 - 3/28/14
Barney was very active as a primary sorter at the book sale
for many years and in the Friends of the Library organization, serving as a president 1995-1996. He is especially remembered for his great sense of humor and his hilarious description of the personality differences between rough and
fine sorters in the 1987 newsletter (see page 11).
He came to Ithaca as a social studies teacher at the high
school. Among his many other activities, Barney coached
high school rowers, was a baritone in the Community Chorus, and was active in environmental causes.
www.booksale.org
Mary Conklin
6/14/18 - 12/17/13
Mary worked with the Book Sale at the Calendar Clock
Building and for some time after the move. She was a Day
Chair, volunteered during the sales and was extremely helpful in calling and scheduling other workers. Regina Lennox
remembers her, “Mary did everything with a smile – just
a nice person.” Away from the Sale she was also active in
4-H and the Caroline Federated Church, and was an avid
gardener and traveler.
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Booksale Volunteer Newsletter
Coincidences, Coincidences
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT
Over the years, most girls and a few
boys have read and enjoyed Louisa
May Alcott’s Little Women series.
Many classic books for children from
the 1800’s are wordy and dull – (have
you ever read Swiss Family Robinson?)
– but Alcott’s written in the 1870’s-80’s
are thoroughly enjoyable. This spring
I thought that I had discovered a new
book in the series when a pre-1900
copy of “Two Good Wives” came in
to Children’s. However, it turned out
that this was a sequel to Little Women
which is now combined with the original as one book.
refused it, and it was only discovered
and printed recently. When I skimmed
through it, I could see why. This is the
final paragraph:
“Like a fallen spirit shut out from eternal life, Tempest looked at him a moment, then,
as the old fire blazed up within him for the last
time, he drove a hidden dagger deep into his
breast and, dropping on his knees, gathered the
dead woman in his arms, saying with mingled
love and defiance in his despairing voice, “Mine
first – mine last – mine even in the grave!”
A final coincidence – just a few
days ago, looking through the adult
murder mysteries, I saw an uncorrected
proof of Louisa and the Missing Heiress by Anna MacLean dated 2011, the
first in a promised series about Louisa
as a detective.
POSSUMS
Most adults know that the Little
Women series is based on Alcott’s own
life and that her family was a part of
the group of well-known writers in
Concord, Mass. prior to the Civil War
(Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Emerson
were personal friends). However, very
few know that Alcott wrote other very
different books – which I discovered
this spring.
Children’s has just received a
beautiful new edition of Flower Fairies, her first published book, written for
children in the school where she taught
while still in her teens.
We try to avoid putting upsetting books
into the youngest Children’s sections, so
when I saw a book titled “Possum Stew,”
I read it to see if the possum got eaten.
Fortunately the possum, bear, and fox
unrealistically ended up as friends having a vegetarian meal. Now, one rarely
hears the word “possum” because they
are rare, shy and nocturnal. But – I laid
down the book, started to the front for
coffee and there on top of an unsorted
box in the architecture section was an
attractive little book entitled “Possum
Huts.”
DENALI
At the other end of the spectrum – I
had been reading a book of biographies
of mystery writers including Alcott and
discovered that she had at one point
supported her family by writing gory
thrillers (totally anonymously). A few
days later while talking to Pat Clark,
next to her paperback fiction section,
I glanced down and saw A Long Fatal Love Chase. This book was so dramatically sensational that her publisher
Fun at the Book Sale
8
In the 1950’s my sister drove to Alaska,
traveling with some friends who traveled in an old hearse. She ended up
staying for a year in a job where she did
research on the auroras – but during
the summer she worked for her keep
at Camp Denali, high on the slopes of
Mt. McKinley.
This spring at my daughter, Kyllikki’s, shop a woman named Annabelle who was buying knitting needles
said that she wasn’t sure they were what
she needed. When I said that she could
bring them back, she replied that she
couldn’t because she was leaving the
next day for 6 months in Alaska – to
live in Camp Denali! Her daughter inlaw’s parents had bought it from my sister’s friends, and her son, daughter inlaw, and grandchildren now live there.
Very interesting but why in the
Book Sale newsletter?
The next week three attractive
picture books about Alaska came into
Children’s – one about the sled dogs of
Denali – and a second with an inscription inside “With thanks for our great
visit to Camp Denali.” We think that
these must have been donated by Annabelle but we don’t know.
A few years ago there had been
another Denali Book Sale coincidence.
In Cookbooks I found an old Alaska
cookbook which included illustrations
from Denali. In this picture are Celia,
a friend of my sister’s, who worked at
the camp, the cookbook author and an
unidentified guitarist.
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
A customer was looking for a copy of
Anne of Green Gables. I told her that
I had visited Green Gables on Prince
Edward Island – and added the strange
fact that it is a favorite place for Japanese tourists to go to be married. She
said that she knew this – but did I know
why? No, I didn’t. The explanation –
during the American occupation of
Japan, McArthur wanted Japanese
children to learn English. Among the
English language books sent to the
schools was Anne of Green Gables.
It captured the imaginations of that
generation and the result was that it
became traditional for those Japanese who could afford it to go halfway
around the world to be married.
~ Editor Laurel Hodgden
One of the joys of working at the Book
Sale is the discovery of something new,
amusing, interesting, or informative.
Examples:
BOOK TITLES
about the Binghamton philanthropist
who provided carousels which all the
children (and adults) could ride on for
free.
• Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality
• Knockdown Knits – Knitting Projects
for Competitive Roller Skaters
While rough sorting the other day, volunteer Kathy Weinberg found a veritable treasure trove of amusing titles:
• Coming Home Crazy – Found in a tobe-sorted box in the Psychology section,
but since it was about a visit to China it
should have been elsewhere.
• Secrets of the C.I.A – Appearing to be
a mis-sort but actually correctly placed
in Cookbooks – (C.I.A. stands for Culinary Institute of America as well as
Central Intelligence Agency).
INTERESTING CONTENT
A book came to Childrens because the
cover was almost a completely accurate
copy of a Curious George book. On
closer inspection it turned out to have a
caricature of George Bush as the little
monkey and the title Clueless George Goes
to War. Though not very funny it was
sent to Humor.
The Squid Cookbook – Few people would
even consider eating squid but might
be intrigued by the title of one recipe:
YAO BAO SAUNG YAO, translated
“Oil Exploded Double Squid.”
At the other extreme was a very
thin pamphlet in poor condition with
the imposing title “LIMU- An Ethnobotanical Study of Some Edible Hawaiian Seaweeds”. It included names in Latin and
in five different Hawaiian dialects of a
number of edible seaweeds – descriptions – pictures – recipes and uses in
various Hawaiian religious ceremonies.
Also this fact – “Before the intervention
of Queen Kashumanu in 1819, women
were forbidden to eat pork, bananas,
coconuts, a variety of fish and sea turtles” – (so they ate sea weed).
MORE FUN WITH TITLES
Recently debated by our usually fearless coordinators as to appropriateness
of posting as humorous titles on the
Book Sale Facebook page:
In addition, Kathy came across two
notable items: First she found Storm,
written by George R. Stewart in 1941,
considered by many to be the best book
about a storm ever written, and the inspiration for giving women’s names to
major storms. Then she picked up a
video tape of the very FIRST episode
of Fury, one of her favorite childhood
shows in the late 50s, early 60s.
One worker in Childrens was intrigued
by Panuel and the Carousel, a beautiful
book about a little boy who wanted to
ride a carousel horse but had no money. She did not know, until she read it,
Green Gables
Booksale Volunteer Newsletter
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Booksale Volunteer Newsletter
The Book Sorter
10
ANECDOTES
BOOKSALE MYSTERY
SOLVED!
After weeks of agonized searching, the
missing Book Sale sign-up book showed
up on top of a box in the storage room- obviously left by an anonymous worker who was absent-minded, guilty, and
embarrassed.
by Barney Unsworth
A volunteer reported that a customer
was so delighted to find a long sought
after book that she did a little dance on
the spot – the book? The Invisible Thread
– a Memoir.
VOLUNTEERS ARE JUST
NICE PEOPLE
Scobie McClelland in Mysteries reports that a returning customer came
up to her during this sale. She thought
he was going to ask her about a title but
he expressed appreciation for the help
she had given him in the past and wanted to make a point of stopping by to tell
her of a mystery recommendation he
had for her! She didn’t have the heart
to tell him she never reads the stuff.
(from the March 1987 Friends Newsletter)
VICTORY DANCE
Now let us make some distinctions among sorters, since there
are many different types engaged
in this activity, Just as no two bird
dogs will scour a meadow in the
same way, no two sorters will attack a pile of books in quite the
same fashion. Careful observations,
HAPPY CUSTOMER
ZZZ...
Early on the first day of the sale a small
boy was seen sitting on the floor, leaning against a book shelf, sound asleep.
He and his mother had spent the night
in the line – we hope he had found
books he wanted before he dozed off.
Peg Lacey reports: When I was shift
chair Saturday morning, a woman was
THRILLED to have found a children’s
book with her name in it. She remembered the book but had no idea how
many people had ‘owned’ it since she
had it as a child, and was surprised to
see her own handwriting in a book at
the Booksale.
She was one very happy customer!!
Should Not Have Been Donated!
There are some things that are put into
the drop slot which the donors must
be aware cannot be sold – such as the
stuffed shark (which has joined the Childrens’ collection of stuffed characters)
and the pair of old shoes (which were
tossed). Others are technically saleable
but highly unlikely to find a buyer. These
include old high school year books from
far away places (those from nearby go
into Local Interest). However, this year
some turned out to be interesting to sorters if not to customers: one had a cover
featuring the Wizard of Oz & was from
a school in Bangkok; another came from
Mundelein, Illinois, and had a pirate
from Treasure Island.
Other items should not have been
donated because they should have been
kept and treasured by their owners rather than given away. It makes us a little
sad to wonder – Of a wedding picture
album: did the marriage break up? – Of
a beautiful album depicting the history
& voyages of a sail boat: did the boat
sink or the owner die?
Others must have been given by
accident: the scrapbook with snapshots
and descriptions of a child’s visit to her
parents homeland in Bosnia; a beautifully handcrafted cloth baby book.
Occasionally we have tried to get
in touch with the original owners to ask
if errors have been made – but without
success.
made over a long period of years, has
led us to conclude that while there are
infinite variations, sorters tend to fall
within two general categories. We refer, of course, to the categories titled
Rough Sorter and Fine Sorter. Herein
lie the principal distinctions:
The Rough Sorter, to take them in order, can sometimes be identified as such
even before coming into sight. Roughs
will often engage in hearty and rather
loud conversation with each other,
tending to do a certain amount of
backslapping and arm squeezing in ordinary social discourse. They talk rather a lot about “getting the job done”
and “getting on with it,” to borrow two
of their favorite phrases. Energy and
optimism are the words which come to
mind in describing them. When confronted with a stack of unsorted volumes, they like nothing better than to
wade in with cries of encouragement to
their fellows and a great air of purpose
and movement. Books fly, shouts of
pleasure are heard, and a lot of books
get rough sorted in a reasonable period
of time, for which we honor and value
the Rough sorter, in all his/her manifestations. When they finish with a pile
and stand back, one can see that one
great stack has been reduced to a number of smaller stacks which will then
be consigned to the Fine Sorters. The
Roughs, probably blowing and snorting
a bit, can then be trusted to gulp some
coffee and attack the next pile with
equal gusto.
Moving from Rough to Fine means
moving from the extrovert and turning
toward the introvert, since Fines make
www.booksale.org
a more subtle first impression. Where
roughs are bluff and hearty, the Fines
tend to be both quieter and more precise. Dress, speech, and movements are
controlled, where the Roughs tend to
be exuberant. For the Rough’s hearty
slap on the back, here we find the more
careful pat on the shoulder. In their approach to the job, we can see the same
difference.
Where a Rough would quickly
move off the knife edge of any
such dilemma, throwing the offending volume out the window
if necessary, the Fines prefer to
examine and reexamine. Where Roughs attack a pile with vigor, Fines tend to pick up each volume
carefully, examine it closely and perhaps frown thoughtfully before placing
it – not dropping it – on the proper pile. Then they may check it again before
turning to the next books. There is
a bit of hypocrisy here, to be honest. Fines tend to know more about less,
you see, so they can be just a tad snooty
with their Rough friends. Not that they
ask them to use the back door when
coming to call, or anything like that,
but there can be just a bit of restraint
in their manner when dealing with the
non-Fine world. Another way to spot
the Fines is by their sometimes agonizing indecision over where to place
a book which they are sorting. They
shuffle their feet, stare out the window,
clear their throats and generally radiate
discomfort. But whatever you do, don’t
try to make a decision for them. They
are Fine Sorters you see, with a widely
recognized and particular expertise. Where a Rough would quickly move
off the knife edge of any such dilemma,
throwing the offending volume out the
window if necessary, the Fines prefer
to examine and reexamine. For all we
know, they may have trouble sleeping
at night during the height of their sorting frenzies, just thinking about all the
decisions they made and wondering
whether they were the right ones.
In facial expression, Roughs can sometimes be identified by certain impatience, by the air of suppressed energy
waiting to be released. Fines, on the
other hand, squint a lot – it comes
from a life of close examination – and
seem to circle each problem warily before closing in, gingerly. Roughs tend
to suffer from hernias from picking up
large book cartons without waiting for
help. Fines are more likely to walk into
things like pillars or stairwells because
their attention is still centered on the
last decision instead of on what lies
ahead.
Which category do you recognize
as yours? Or do you fall somewhere
along the continuum between? Finding
the answer is part of the fun of sorting, which is open to all. We hope that
you will join us. It is not too soon to
do a little Spring Training, either. Sort
some books and magazines around the
house, just to get the muscle loosened
up and the old form back.
11
Booksale Volunteer Newsletter
12
Gallery
Volunteer Richard Tabor, and his wife Eunice,
recently received an Outstanding Contribution
Award from the Office for the Aging. Among
many other volunteer activities, Dick used his
skills as a teacher and library manager to create
a library at the Ithaca Youth Bureau. He wrote
grants to purchase books, found new bookcases
and furniture, and organized and catalogued the
books into a lending library that appeals to both
children and parents.
Oops! Good thing everyone wore
old clothes!
Painting party – Sandra Kisner, Clare Greene,
Barbara Kretzmann, J. Kandaswamy and
Nancy Morgan
Winnie Koustron, Laurie Young, and
Laurel Hodgden with a beautiful
children’s book from Myanmar
Quilting is a favorite
pasttime of many volunteers. Phyllis Rappaport
and Nancy Cool with
one of Nancy’s latest creations
Now, he and Eunice both volunteer at the Rescue
Mission food pantry. He applied for and received
a grant from FOL to purchase books for the
homeless at Rescue Mission Friendship Center,
Emergency Shelter, and Court Street Place. The
Tabors like to give of themselves to help others
and the community. We are fortunate to have
Dick as a volunteer; he category sorts the Inspiration section. You also may know him as the
maker of the delightful book sale miniatures on
display in the lounge.
Daily animated conversation around the lunch table – topics? – up for grabs!
Filled gaylords await loading on the semi-trailer truck from Thrift
Books after the spring sale.
Double rainbow over Esty St. – nature smiles on the book sale
Ithaca College students volunteered for a construction
dust cleanup workday – they did a great job!