In a previous post, I lamented over arriving at the last Friends of the Library sale after a portion of the fiction section had been gone through by those using a handheld scanner.
Today, there was only one person with a scanner, and she was considerate enough to not hoarde and to always move out of the way of someone trying to look at the shelves where she was scanning. I was still put out by the practice, but I have to say, this particular woman made it a much more pleasant experience than the last time.
I did find it interesting that she passed up some books I thought for sure would’ve been snatched up. One in particular was my “find” of the day: Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas and Other American Stories. Really? This won’t sell on eBay or Alibris for a profit?
I’m not sure what upsets me more. The fact that these people come to library sales and go through stacks faster than ravenous locusts, or that there isn’t much value placed on a book like Thomson’s. No, it’s not a first edtion. But it is an anniversay printing that includes many of Ralph Steadman’s illustrations. I guess some value is better assessed by the heart than the dollar. At least it is in mine.
Here is the complete haul:
- Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
- London Observed by Doris Lessing
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
- Cider House Rules by John Irving
- 24 Stories by Willa Cather
- In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens by Alice Walker
- A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
- The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
- Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
- The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
- A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
- The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
- The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Quite the ecclectic bunch: historical fiction, several anthologies, a Pulitzer winner, banned/challenge books, a mystery – my library is looking better and better.
So. How was your weekend? Did you find something that you’d been looking for?
Maybe something someone else passed over, not realizing it does have value – just not the kind that makes you money on eBay.
Looks like you have some great finds! You’ve just reminded me that I have Speak, I really should read that soon.
I’m glad there was only one scanner there. Honestly they sound pretty terrible, I’ve never seen them at work anywhere around me and I’m grateful for it. =/
Wow! I’ve never seen anyone with a scanner at a library sale, but then I haven’t been to one in several years – and the last one I attended was at a small neighborhood branch and not the big, main sale. I think I would ask that a ban of the practice be considered or perhaps scanners are allowed on day 2 or 3 of the sale, after regular patrons have had a chance to look and buy. I guess that would be impractical, though, since the library system wants the sale to be successful.
The Hummingbird’s Daughter=awesomeness
J.C.,
You have just targeted my BIGGEST pet peeve. I used to love attending Friends of the Library sale in my town north of Boston, but the scanner set have RUINED it.
This is an example of what happens. One young couple shows up at every library sale north of Boston and wait at the front of the line. Once inside, they RUN to the tables grabbing anything in good condition (they have even recruited their parents and some high school kids). They grab as many books as they can carry and then squirrel them away into a corner and cover them up with blankets. Boxes and boxes and boxes covered with blankets! Sometimes they follow the library workers as they bring boxes out and start grabbing books before they even hit the tables. Then at the end of the sale, they sit in their corner and go through the books with their scanner guns and put back everything they deem unworthy or unprofitable. They are very aggressive and even pushed me once when I was pregnant to get at books.
I was so annoyed (my blood boils as I sit here typing this) that one day I showed up with a queen-sized sheet. I walked ahead of them, went straight to the over-sized paperback fiction table (where they always start) and covered up the entire table. My husband knows that I like to stir things up, so he chose not to come that day. I got some strange looks from others, but the couple that I intended to annoy immediately complained to library management. He said I wasn’t allowed to cover up an entire table. I said that what I was doing was no different than what this aggressive couple had been doing for years. I was simply being more efficient. Plus, I was at a clear disadvantage, since I didn’t have a scanner.
A lot of people came up to me after that to thank me for making a stand. Many had wanted to speak up for a long time, but were afraid to do so. However, the library sale people didn’t reprimand the scanner couple. Because they spend over a hundred dollars or so on books (which they turn around and sell for a profit at their used bookstore and online), the library won’t do anything about it.
If there’s a petition somewhere that I could sign to stop the scary scanner people, I would do it in a heartbeat. I’ve even stopped taking my 6-year-old to library sales (which is heart-breaking), because some people find children’s books valuable and tear through the stacks, completely unaware of the children they leave in their wake. Heaven help me if I EVER saw my daughter shoved aside by these scavengers.
I just like to go and find a nice book once in awhile. I don’t like dealing with vultures.
Megan, it distresses me to think that you went through this, enough to take action, and still nothing was done. So far, our small sale has not been adversely affected. The big test will come in October when the large quarterly sale will be held. At that point, I hope to be a member and be able to get in early just like the scanner people.
If I witness anything like you have, believe me, there will be a dust-up right there and right then. It will immediately be followed up with my contacting whomever is in charge of the sales. I will not merely complain, but bring with me the information I found where another library system had done a survey and had worked with the sellers to institute policy to prevent future problems. In addition, I will bring copies of both the posts I’ve written along with all the comments, including yours.
I’m sure a solution can be found, and in a way that benefits everyone.
It is too bad you cannot point out to your library that as much money they make from those internet sellers, they have lost a also because they ahve lost customers such as yourself and their families as well as anyone who has listened to your story and decided to stay away too.
So sad. And maddening. And unfair. Very unfair. My heart goes out to you.
Funny story. We encountered those scanner people at our last library book sale. They didn’t squirrel away in a corner, but instead just pushed through with huge bins scanning everything in sight ahead of everyone else. Somehow, they missed a book that my 8 year old found that was in excellent condition and had the author’s signature in it. I can’t recall the actual book, but I talked to a librarian friend afterwards and she said that was a pretty good find because that author almost never signs books.
I’ve never been to one of those library book sales first thing in the morning until that time. I don’t think I’ll be doing it again. After a couple hours, those people are gone, thank goodness.
Wow, some great reads in there. I LOVE The Good Earth.