Shoppers find small treasures during MRRL book sale

Andrew and Claudia Barnes check out the selection at the Missour River Regional Library Book Sale Saturday.  (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)
Andrew and Claudia Barnes check out the selection at the Missour River Regional Library Book Sale Saturday. (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)


Nine-year-old Kynlee Beene sat on a large wooden chair in the library reading her new book late Saturday morning.

Her mother, Ericka Thompson, stood nearby looking through Missouri River Regional Library's selection of latest arrivals and considered checking some out.

Thompson had just bought the book for Kynlee during this weekend's Pop-Up Used Book Sale, which continues 1-5 p.m. today and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday.

Kynlee said she's a big reader and really into books.

As she looked through her new book's front cover, she explained she normally takes two or three days to finish any book.

"I think I could really get into this book," Kynlee said. "If my mom lets me take it to school, I think I could finish it that day."

She recently finished two books -- "Ghosts" and "Guts."

Guts is a girl who bullies another girl, but by the end of the book, they become friends, Kynlee said.

"A dollar for paperbacks and $2 for hardbacks? That's a steal," Thompson said. "You can't go wrong there."

MRRL and Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) host the used book sale in the main branch of the library at 214 Adams St. It kicked off Friday.

This sale features adult fiction and nonfiction, and may include biographies, cookbooks and histories.

A book sale volunteer, Caroline Ward, and an ABLE volunteer, Royce Schreiber, sat at a table near the entrance to a small area inside the library that had been set aside for the sale and accepted payments for treasured books that people passing through found.

They watched as a steady stream of people browsed through the books being offered for sale.

"I think (the pop-up sale) is great. I think these book sales are wonderful," Ward said. "And we get a lot of books to a lot of people. You feel like a kid in a candy shop because it's so cheap to buy them."

Schreiber said she helps each time the book sales occur.

She said thousands of books were available. But the pop-up sale remains much smaller than the annual book sale, held each spring in St. Martins Knights of Columbus Hall. That sale generally moves more than 200,000 items -- books, movies, music, puzzles, games and much more.

"As a volunteer, I like this better for setting up," Schreiber said. "It's easier. It's quicker. And people that may not even know about it learn about the sale. We're getting a lot of walk-ins."

  photo  Missouri River Regional Library patrons check out the large selection of books at the library's book sale Saturday. (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)
 
 
  photo  Missouri River Regional Library patrons check out the large selection of books at the library's book sale Saturday. (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)