The used book sale which funds the children’s book collection at the Vicksburg District Library will once again be held during the Old Car Festival on Friday and Saturday, June 13 and 14, as well as on Monday, June 16.
The event is the culmination of a year-long effort by library volunteers and the community, according to Andrea Smalley, teen and reference librarian.
“Some community members support the book sale by donating books throughout the year,” she said. “Others fund children’s book purchases by purchasing their own treasures from the book sale’s wide array of fiction, non-fiction, teen, and children’s books.”
For the past 19 years, Gail Reisterer has led the volunteers who give their time to make the book sale, and by extension, the children’s book collection, possible, said Smalley. Each week throughout the year, these volunteers sort and price book donations, an effort that will eventually translate into nearly $3,000 for board books for babies, dinosaur stories for preschoolers, popular series for tweens, and so much more.
With the book sale proceeds, children’s librarian Kristy Zeluff pores over professional review literature such as School Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist, as well as requests from library patrons, to identify the very best books for Vicksburg children, Smalley said.
Purchases funded by the 2013 book sale include Newbery Award winning “Flora and Ulysses” by Kate DiCamillo; Caldecott Medal Winner “Locomotive” by Brian Floca; and Geisel Honor Book “A Big Guy Took My Ball” by Mo Willems.
Zeluff also purchases hundreds of other books for the thousands of children’s book check-outs at the Vicksburg District Library each year.
Hours for the book sale are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 13 and Saturday, June 14, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, June 16.