The annual sale has earned
Star-Bulletin
thousands of dollars for Hawaii's
libraries for 50 yearsLike the tides, books come into the library system, and books come out. The big tidal wading pool is the Friends of the Library of Hawaii Book Sale, where books by the thousands gather to be scooped up. This year, the annual Book Sale is half a century old. Gordon Frazier, a reedy, retired statistician who has been attending Friends sales since 1951 -- and who has worked as a volunteer for the last 17 years -- simply loves books. "They're knowledge. They're information. They're excitement. With books, you don't have to travel. With books, you choose what to read, unlike TV, which is only what the idiots want you to see."
Volunteer Ann Schwab knows an English teacher in Japan who plans her Hawaii vacation around the sale. "She's always asking, when's the sale? What's available?"
The Friends of the Library is an all-volunteer group, and many members are retired librarians -- whom you think would be sick of stacking books. But they can't get enough.
Nancy Nott, retired from Liliha Library, said it's exciting working with so many thousands of books. "You'd never see such a variety in a branch library," she said.
"One of the good things about being a volunteer is that you get to borrow the books and read them," said Alice Bender, retired from Waikiki-Kapahulu Library.
"I like the people who work here, because they know everything," said Frazier. "Because they keep reading these books!"
And it's not just a matter of recycling books. The funds raised often bridge critical oversights in the state's library budget.
Last year, the Friends raised more than $80,000, which was distributed to more than 49 public libraries around the state. "It fills the holes that the state budget doesn't fill,' said Friends executive assistant Barbara Schafer.
Libraries fill out "wish lists" and the Friends try to accommodate their needs. "Everything from mouse traps to materials for cushions for kids to sit on," said Caroline Dvojacki, Friends executive director. "The funds are particularly useful to fill handicapped needs. We can't replace the state budget, but the state budget is part of a system that treats all libraries alike. But each library has needs that are different from the others."
"The money raised is like Christmas for the libraries," said Bender.
"Like getting chairs for children," said Shirley Naito, retired from the State Library. "And training and conference expenses. This year, we were able to send 13 librarians to the (American Library Association) conference for training."
Other Friends programs include Makana Akami (Gift of Wisdom), where people can donate particular books to specific libraries. "Grandparents often do it and have bookplates in the books with their grandchildren's names," said Schafer.
Books in the sale come from all over -- estate bequests, donations from individuals and businesses, plus discards from the state system. One donation this year was of more than a thousand cookbooks, a category that is always quick to sell out. "We also have collectible books -- like an Ansel Adams photographic book that's signed by him," said Schafer.
There are something like 150,000 books in 3,000 boxes collected for this year's sale. Nearly 300 volunteers began moving and sorting the books into the McKinley High School cafeteria on Monday.
Frazier said there are quite a few titles in a new category, computer games and programs. "I started working here before the computer was invented," he laughed. "And this year we've got 70 boxes of computer programs. Something like 900 titles! Plus a thousand computer manuals!"
The Friends were formally organized in 1938, and the first book sale took place during National Book Week in 1947 on the lawn of a home on Punahou Street. It raised about $400. Leftover books were sent to Okinawa to replenish libraries destroyed in war.
Unsold books have been donated to prisons, hospitals and ships. Books left over this year will be shipped to the Ponape Rotary Club, Micronesia.
There were 98 charter members at the first meeting in 1938 -- and one of their first tasks was to lobby the Territorial government to restore library funding cuts.
Some things don't change all that much.
Friends of the
Library Book SaleWhen: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday through July 25 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 26
