Friends of the Library book sale Thursday

MOSES LAKE — The bad news for book lovers is that icy nasty weather in January canceled the first Moses Lake Friends of the Library book sale for 2017. The good news is that as a result, the March book sale will be huge.

The sale is from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday in the basement of the library, 418 East Fifth Ave. “We have tons of books,” said Kay Ward, a Friends member.

All books are donated, Ward said. Most are “what we call current books,” mostly published in the last 25 years. The Friends don’t accept books published before 2012 in some genres, Ward said.

The sale always includes books on almost any subject under the sun – bestsellers, classics, romances, westerns, science fiction, action novels. “Probably two and half tables of mysteries,” she said. And that’s just the fiction section. Nonfiction offerings include history, current events, cookbooks, crafts, woodworking, fiber arts.

Books for kids are always a big draw, Ward said. “A table and a half of children’s books.” Beginning teachers often use the book sale to staff their classroom libraries, she said.

It’s a lot of work, getting out all those books, and Friends members set up the displays Wednesday afternoon, with help from volunteer missionaries from the LDS church. “Which is greatly appreciated, trust me,” Ward said.

The money raised through the book sale is used to support library activities, especially for children, Ward said.

The Friends help pay for reading groups for children, from toddlers to teenagers. There’s Storytime for little kids, the summer reading program for grade school students, a separate reading group for teenagers. The Friends group also paid to refurbish some of the furniture in the children’s section, Ward said.

The Friends meet the second Monday of each month at 1:15 p.m. in the library staff room. Any interested persons are invited, according to the library’s website.

The Moses Lake library is affiliated with the North Central Regional Library system, which launched a new website about 10 days ago. The website was redesigned to make it easier to navigate and for customers to order materials and use its services, said Michelle McNiel, NCRL public information officer. The new site also includes “Hoopla Digital,” which allows library patrons to access ebooks and other publications, along with streaming music and videos. Library patrons can borrow up to seven Hoopla items per month.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.