Books galore!

Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 27, 2000

LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / May 27, 2000

They came from all over, bargain-hungry and eager for knowledge. It wasthe semi-annual book sale sponsored by the Friends of the St. CharlesParish Library, held last week at the Hahnville branch.

A room set aside for the sale was crammed to overflowing with discarded books, and bargains in every category were happily carted away by those who attended. No one left empty handed.St. Charles Parish Library currently maintains four branches in Destrehan,Norco, Luling and Hahnville, with a fifth under development in St. Rose anda sixth, in Des Allemands, contemplated.

Children’s book, romance novels and science fiction competed for shelf space with biographies, historical novels, cookbooks and religious books.

Videotapes spilled over at one table, and a box of 1963 “Saturday Evening Post” magazines drew the attention of several customers.

Volunteer Mary Hitt said the bargain prices draw many people of all ages to the sales, usually conducted in May and October. Adult hardcover bookswent for $1 and paperbacks for 25 cents. Children’s books went for 25 and10 cents. Romance paperbacks went for 10 cents.Several boxes of children’s books lined the sidewalk outside, and the added attraction of coffee and doughnuts helped people linger, awaiting the next boxes to be unpacked. With so many books offered for sale, boxescould not all be unpacked at once.

“I just love to collect cookbooks,” Evelena Johnson of Hahnville said as she thumbed through three shelves of them.

“I’m interested in science!” said Carver Elementary third-grader Javin Downing as he pulled out a book on the space shuttle.

Kathy Brennan-Haugh of St. Rose crouched beside the children’s books outon the sidewalk, heedless of the heat, excited about the variety offered.

St. Charles Parish Library boasts 31,644 registered borrowers, 65 percentof the parish population and far above the national average of 30 percent.

More than 95 percent of the population between ages 6 and 17 are library patrons.

During the past year these patrons checked out 238,444 items, averaging five items each. On an average day the library’s branches are used by 400people, with at least 55 percent using the 19 public access computers.

Besides providing books, magazines, videotapes, books-on-tape, microfilm services, large-print books and more, the library also hosts a variety of free programs.

These range from weekly storytelling at each branch, the only public library-owned planetarium in the country, bookmobiles and summer reading program.

The library also hosted 396 programs during the past year, attended by 10,592 people.

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