Labor Day Book Sale

Is A ‘Go’

By Nancy K. Crevier

Book lovers rejoice! The C.H. Booth Library annual book sale site is now official. It took a community effort to find adequate space for the 2005 book sale. Thanks to special aid from First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and The Fairfield Hills Management Committee, as well as the tireless efforts of dedicated Friends of the Library volunteers, the 30th Anniversary of the Friends of Cyrenius H. Booth Library’s Labor Day Weekend Book Sale will still be held at Fairfield Hills, but in Newtown Hall, rather than at Bridgeport Hall.

Renovations at Fairfield Hills made Bridgeport Hall unavailable to the Friends this year, and organizers feared that the sale, which grossed $113,000 last fall, would be brought to a standstill. For months, the Friends and town officials desperately sought a large enough space with adequate public access, before successfully coming to an agreement with management committees for Fairfield Hills.

All of the rare books and collectibles will be safely housed inside Newtown Hall; and since more space is needed for the more than 100,000 other books and items, the rest will be “back under the big top” — in a large Century tent next to Newtown Hall.

What started as a small setup in front of the C.H. Booth Library during the 1975 Labor Day parade to raise funds for the library has grown into the Friends’ biggest fundraising activity, with thousands of books available to thousands of attendees over a five-day period. As in the past, the sale will continue to be user-friendly, with books organized into categories. Signs and maps will guide browsers through the many aisles of books, and volunteers will be on hand to answer any and all questions.

Space limitations might require the organizers to cut back on duplicate copies of certain books, according to Joyce Goldin, publicity coordinator for The Friends of the Library. “We’ll probably cut back,” she said, “ and then if all of the copies are sold, we’ll bring in the back-up duplicates.” Buyers will still have a plethora of books to choose from, she stressed, and will not be disappointed by the choices or the new arrangement.

The Boy Scouts will offer food and drinks for sale this year, as they have in the past.

In this 300th year of Newtown’s founding, the Friends of the Library look forward to welcoming patrons to celebrate their 30th year with them this Labor Day weekend.

To get to the book sale, take Exit 11 from Interstate 84 and follow the posted signs. Fairfield Hills is located off of Wasserman Way.

The sale is sponsored by The Friends of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library, and all proceeds will benefit the library. Volunteers are still needed to help with book sorting through August and to work during the sale. Contact Mary Maki, 426-4356. For more information, call the Booth Library at 203-426-4533 or visit the website www.biblio.org/chbooth/booksale.htm.