Photos and article by Claire Cox.
A record of $29,000 was raised at the Lenox Library’s fifteenth annual book sale during the last weekend in August, thanks to the efforts of volunteers and the support of the reading public.
The sale, chaired by Ilse Browner and Maureen Hammel, attracted hundreds of buyers who made their selections from a trove of 20,000 donated books, CDs and videos during the three-day event, which began on Friday, August 27.
It was a far cry from the first sale, in 1995, when a modest array of books on a card table brought $500. This year, 37 large tables were laden with boxes of books arranged by subjects. Buyers paid from 50 cents for paperbacks to $1,560 for a set of leather-bound legal classics. The most expensive single item was a limited edition copy of Anna Karenina in a slip case, which sold for $170.
“The sale exceeded our expectations,” Browner said after the final transaction was recorded at 5 pm on August 29th. “I was aiming for $25,000. I thought that would make me happy, so this is really wonderful. We had more books, wonderful weather and good publicity.”
More than 150 people, including 70 dealers who came long distances to search for bargains, were standing in line when the sale opened. They rushed in to find rarities, and when the last book had been bought, only 5,000 items were left to be taken away quickly by a dealer for resale on the Internet.
Browner reported that in the 15 years of the sales, the volunteer effort has raised a total of $290,000 to bolster the library’s operations fund.
“Buyer preferences have varied little over the years,” she said. “In some years art sales are better than cook books, but this year’s favorites were children’s books. Grandmothers buy them. On the whole, however, the list has been pretty steady, so we know every year what to expect.”
This year’s list ranged from Art to Video with Ephemera, Occult, New Age and Poetry among the choices between. At least some of each were sold.
Among the most popular books this year were paperbacks, cook books, travel guides and DVDs. The art section displayed beautiful books of Rembrandts and impressionists, which sold for 10 to 15 dollars each. A gift table was a very popular feature on Saturday and Sunday. Every “big spender” of $15 or more could pick out a gift donated by local shops and by volunteers.
Volunteers who sort and classify books reported that interest in occult “new age” books has been rising along with an innovative flow of serious novels with illustrations inspired by comic book art. Since the onset of the recession, books with do-it-yourself instructions have sold quickly, which Browner assumed meant that people are coping with the recession by repairing “their own stuff. “
“Also,” Browner added, “first editions don’t mean much because most of the first editions are the only editions, unless, of course they are by Hemingway.”
Volunteers who sort the books have found low sales of reference books now that so many that people go to the Internet for the information they used to look for on the printed page.
Sharon Hawkes, the library’s Executive Director, joined the 55 volunteers who worked on the sale before the opening and was on hand for the final event. “I was impressed with how busy and gracious our volunteers were,” Hawkes said. “I heard back from more than one person that ours was their favorite book sale, because of our big selection and because everyone was so helpful.”
Browner, who has been overseeing book sales since she chaired a major event in Westchester County in a 1960 college fund benefit, has been chairman of the Lenox drive since it was launched. She shares researching and verifying books with her husband Irwin Browner, and is assisted throughout by Hammel, a retired school teacher who has been on the team since she answered an ad for volunteers 13 years ago.
“The volunteers say ‘This is therapy. When I’m working on the books I forget everything else,’’’ Ilse said. “And they love it. They make friends in a nice atmosphere. It’s really a team effort. A crew of volunteers pack the rejects, such as worn or out-of-date reference books. There are people who sort, price, and box books. We now have people who are specialists, and some former librarians are good at helping to decide what to keep and what to throw out.”
The end of the fifteenth sale brought an immediate new beginning for next year. At least 1,000 books were already in stock the moment the sale had begun, and more have been pouring in to send Maureen and the other volunteers back to work.
“I really love doing it!” Browner declared as she started making her list of books to be marked “2011.”