The Noel Memorial Library book sale returns after six years with a selection of over 3,000 books. Every dollar spent at the sale benefits the Friends of the Library program.
For the avid reader in Shreveport, the Noel Memorial Library on the LSUS campus is holding a sale on Feb. 3 and 4 on the third floor of the library, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale offers over 3,000 books in a wide range of styles and genres for $1 or $2 a piece. The sale is an ongoing initiative from the library, started back in 2018, designed to ensure that donated books which cannot go on the shelves can still be offered to the public.
The last major book sale hosted by the library was in 2019, and the event was intended to be an annual occurrence. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted this plan, the library has had only small, pop-up sales. Meanwhile, book donations have continued. With such a large number of books, the time was right to bring the sale back and offer these books to the public. The sale also includes a sizable donation of books from LSUS’s English department in what Sherman calls a “co-sale” with the department, providing even more choices for readers.
The sale is being hosted by the Friends of the Library program, which provides funds for library activities. “Every one of our Friends dollars...goes back to sponsor some kind of student engagement for the library” says Dean of the Library, Brian Sherman. “We’re restricted to buy certain things with certain funds. So, that’s what we use the Friends for, is to buy, say, promotional material or other things we may give away, food.” The library frequently hosts events open to the public, such as Banned Book night or other themed events, and the money and donations given to the Friends of the Library are vital to making sure these functions are successful.
According to Sherman, the library hopes to continue the sale at least annually moving forward, though he is hopeful that they will be able to hold more frequent events like this. “It depends on book donations that come in” he says. For now, he’s simply happy to be putting these books out and offering them to the public, rather than having them sit on a shelf in a back room. “The Friends of the Library can sell the books, and we don’t have to store or dispose of them, so all of the books can go to a good home.” After all, it is a library’s job to make sure books have a chance to be read.
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