Every year, many generous patrons of the Cranford Public Library donate their used books to the library. All of the books, with the exception of some that are needed by the library, are sent to the library’s Friendly Book Cellar which has two rooms filled with shelves. This is where the Friends of the Cranford Public Library holds its five annual used book sales. Proceeds benefit the library and enable it to buy books, equipment and much more. They also help the Friends to fund numerous adult and children’s programs which are free and open-to the publicTo prepare for a sale, the Friends sort the donated books and shelve them in categories such as fiction, non-fiction, mystery, science, gardening etc. Some categories like poetry and classics are also alphabetized. Children’s books occupy a separate section and are shelved in categories. Parents really appreciate the ability to quickly find a biography or a graded reader without having to pore through a stack of unorganized books.
Books that are damaged or out of date cannot be sold, but those that are sturdy or have only minor damage can still be used. Some are placed on the library’s “free” cart and others are distributed by the Friends to places like Elder Care or the Cranford Railroad Station. The rest are put into boxes. These will be given to churches, hospitals, schools and charities which contact the Friends with special needs. The Friends are always glad to lend a helping hand and make every effort to fill all requests. After the 2013 hurricane, they prepared many boxes of books for Books for the Bayou and the Jersey Shore. Other groups that have been helped include St. Peter’s University Hospital (ongoing), Books for Ghana, the Art and Library Program of the Arc of Union County, Zambia, South Africa and Schools in the Philippines.
Recently, Barbara Ugenti, the Director of Book Sales for the Friends went to the Friendly Book Cellar to give several boxes of books to volunteers from Books for Taiwan. This organization collects and distributes donated books to Taiwanese libraries, schools where children are learning English, culinary schools where future chefs are learning western cuisine and wherever a need for English books exists. The books are collected from libraries throughout New Jersey, stored in a Fairfield warehouse and then packed and shipped to Taiwan. Since 2004, Books for Taiwan has shipped more than 300,000 books. The Friends are happy to have been able to help this worthy group.
The Cranford Public Library welcomes book donations. People wishing to donate books may bring them to the main desk during regular library hours.
(above l-r) Lu, Wen Sen (Ph.d student, Rutgers), Chen, Sen Wen (graduate student, Rutgers), Barbara Ugenti (Friends’ Director of Book Sales), Tsai, Liju (Books for Taiwan).
