Book lovers in Conway County are in luck — the library sale is back.
The Friends of the Conway County Library Book Sale is scheduled for June 8-10 in the former Magie Ford building, 1207 E. Harding St. in Morrilton Books will be collected Monday and Tuesday at the building.
Jay Carter, director of the Conway County Library, said the sale hasn’t been held in a couple of years.
“We get people constantly asking when we’re going to have our book sale,” he said. “We’ve had little mini sales in the library; we’ll grab a few tables and try to sell as many books as we can.”
Carter said a storage shed at the library is stuffed, which is why donations have to be dropped off at the Harding Street location. He said parking is plentiful and easily accessible for people dropping off donations or coming to the sale. Donations of books, DVDs, CDs and books on tape will be accepted.
He said the sale will also include “coffee-table-type books,” nonfiction, fiction and discontinued library books.
“I think there will be some graphic novels in the book sale this time,” he said.
Linda Smith, president of the Friends of the Faulkner County Library, said she has participated in three book sales.
“I always take a lot of books I want to donate and probably buy as many as I donate,” she said, laughing.
Carter said the books will be sold for 75 cents per pound, which makes the Conway County sale unusual.
“I’ve been director here 11 1/2 years, and even before that — the thing about our book sale that made it famous is that we sell our books by the pound. Most people sell them by the book; we sell them by the pound. You can get quite a few books for 75 cents,” he said.
The proceeds are needed, he said, especially in a time when state and federal funding for libraries is being cut.
“It’s really important because what it does is, it gives more of a voice to the community about what they’d like to see going on at the library,” he said.
“To tell you the truth, the way things are going these days in these sad political times, any money we can get toward the library is great. We’re all waiting to see if we get hit with another state-aid cut for libraries,” like the one that occurred last year. “Of course, it’s those small rural libraries that hurt more than those large urban libraries.”
That’s why the Friends group is appreciated, he said.
“The Friends contribute quite a bit of money every year for children’s programming and other programming, and they usually have money set aside in case we need to do something like get a data base or a copy machine,” Carter said.
Denise Burton, assistant library director, said the Friends group contributes almost $3,500 a year to the library, which has an annual operating budget of approximately $750,000. Funding for the library also comes from property taxes, fines and fees, and city appropriations.
Smith, a retired schoolteacher, said the group supports children’s and teen programming, and also buys $500 worth of books for Morrilton Save the Children, a Head Start program.
“If there are special events that come up for the library, we try to sponsor them,” Smith said.
Opened in 1916, the library is one of only two public libraries in the state operating in its original Carnegie Library building, Carter said. The other is in Eureka Springs.
Smith said events related to the library’s 100th anniversary last year were sponsored by the Friends group.
She said the Friends group also pays for an author, preferably an Arkansas author, to attend the annual meeting of the Friends of the Conway County Library meeting in October.
Smith said the book sale is a big project and takes lots of volunteers.
“Everybody seems to enjoy it; we usually do well. People come and support us. … I think we have between 60 and 70 members who have joined the Friends. It’s a lot of work, but I think it’s worth it,” she said.
Carter said the focus of fundraising this year is a 4,800-square-foot expansion south of the building. The project is estimated to cost $2 million to $3 million, he said.
“Everything we’re doing now is geared toward that,” he said.
The late Johnnie Moum bequeathed $400,000 to the library, which will be used for the project. Moum, who grew up in Morrilton, died in 2012.
The addition will house a community room, which will have a kitchen and is designed to accommodate about 80 people.
“The community really needs to have a meeting room,” Burton said. “So many people call asking if we have one.”
The addition will also house the adult collection, audiovisual equipment and public computers. The basement will be renovated as an area for children and teens, with their own meeting room. The second floor will be turned into a space for genealogy and local history.
The timeline of the project depends on the library’s budget.
“It’s two to three years away, if things go our way,” he said. “We hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.