Oct. 15 – Prosser Public Library Sale (Bloomfield)

It’s October. And it’s SNOWING. I am not happy about this at all. I hate snow. I hate driving in it, and I hate being afraid to venture out when there’s snow in the forecast. So, of course, when I heard that snow was in the forecast for early evening last night, my first thought was that I had better not try to make it to the library in Bloomfield for its sale. I decided, however, to give it a shot, because Bloomfield isn’t far from my workplace and I didn’t think the snow would be too much of an impediment. Turns out I was right—I saw a fair bit of snow, but only in the air; it didn’t stick on the road at all, since it was too warm to ice up. No worse than driving in the rain (which I don’t like either but wouldn’t allow to hinder me as readily).

That said, if I had been snowed out of the Bloomfield sale, I don’t think I’d have missed anything tremendous. Even so, I was glad that I made it, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on.

I’m fond of the Bloomfield library—Bloomfield is not a huge town, but its library seems well-cared-for and well-loved. I’ve been there a couple times to borrow books (and will probably always remember it fondly because I found a copy of Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction on its bookcart in the hall, and the newer Mole books, especially, are hard to come by in America!). Thus, the warmth and cleanliness of the community room impressed me as a nice place for a sale. This sale was tidy and organized—unfortunately, however, part of the reason for the tidiness and organization was that the selection wasn’t particularly broad. I got the sense, though, that somebody had really laid everything out carefully and attractively, and that was part of the sale’s overall appeal. (I do protest, however, at some sections that weren’t laid out horizontally but were displayed vertically, in annoying, flimsy bookends that slid when books were taken out and made the rest of the display fall over. Not attractive, and not useful either!)

For the most part, the sale consisted of donated books rather than library discards—with the notable exception of the children’s books, which I’ll get to in a moment. Most ordinary library categories were represented, but generally by only 20 to 30 books each. The cookbook section was nice—seemed like newer and higher-quality books. The fiction choices—which are almost always the heart of any used-book sale—were remarkably slim; mostly hardback, little paperback. (I did indulge in the same Janet Evanovich book I’d bypassed at the Allentown sale, since at Bloomfield it was only $1. I always get a little “Ha!” out of moments like that.) CD selection was OK; video selection was actually very good (high-quality tapes, great condition—if you’re an X-Files fan and don’t mind videotape, this sale had a broad range of episode tapes. (I seriously debated about the two tapes with Darin Morgan episodes, but eventually didn’t want to break up the set; I’ll probably end up getting the show on DVD eventually.)

The real highlight of this sale (or at least it was before I decimated it) was the education section—I snagged five books on lesson planning and classroom management for my teacher-to-be husband that were published within the last decade, in great condition, and probably very useful.

The children’s section was the only one that was almost completely library discards. Many of these books (for both older and younger kids) were classics, and the selection was bigger than most at this sale. At the beginning of my quest for the classroom library, however, I probably would have been less picky about taking library discards; now, I’ve just gotten a little more discriminating and I didn’t choose many. I did end up with some pretty nice donated paperbacks—although the one weird blip in the sale’s display relegated these to two large tubs in the corner of the room, and I couldn’t even be sure they were actually on sale. I asked the sweet elderly ladies who were running the sale, and they weren’t sure, but they found someone fairly quickly to give the right answer.

Prices were standard—exemplary for the children’s paperbacks, though, which were ten cents (lowest I’ve seen anywhere so far)! I left with one bag, quite full (under $10, although upon looking the haul over at home I suspect that the dear ladies undercharged me and I feel vaguely guilty about that). As I left the library, it was just getting dark and the snow was getting underway, and I drove through a lot of blow-snow to get home. I wouldn’t say that this was a sale to risk one’s personal safety—or one’s car—to get to, but it was certainly worth a little effort.

Best Finds: The aforementioned education books, particularly Weaving Through Words and Managing Diverse Classrooms. A copy of Sesyle Joslin’s What Do You Say, Dear? (about manners, but a hoot—I always liked it as a child) and two of Aliki’s books, Manners and Feelings. James Marshall's Merry Christmas, Space Case--a library discard, but one I couldn't pass up (talk to me if you ever want an adaptation for a school or church play, because I've done it!) Prince Paul’s album A Prince Among Thieves (as a De La Soul fan, I’m interested in their friend and mentor, and that’s the great thing about sales like this—you can investigate side interests without a huge investment).