Getting ready for the Friends of the Osterhout Free Library tent sale are, from left: Friends vice president Tanya Brown, tent sale co-chair Jane Frank, Friends president Linda Kubiak and tent sale co-chair Kathleen Hannon. The weeklong sale opens with a preview on Friday.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Friends of Osterhout prepare for 47th tent sale
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Shown at left, from left, are, first row: Jane Frank and Kathleen Hannon, book sale co-chairs; Claire Vassia, Joan Kwarcinski and Maxine Briskl; Second row: Carol Grogan, Maryellen Schroeder, Barbara Ambrose and Marylou Deibert. At right, from left, are, first row: Rosalie Grabowski and Linda Kubiak, book sale chair; Second row: Patty Kopec, Carla Finn, Tanya Brown, Beth Ann Rash, Diane Krokos and Debbie Federo.
Submitted photo
WILKES-BARRE — Books, books, everywhere!
Oh, sure, there are CDs, DVDs, audio books, games and puzzles, too, waiting to be purchased at the Friends of the Osterhout Free Library 47th Tent Sale, which opens with a preview sale on Friday, June 7.
But mostly there are tables and tables filled with books — everything from romance novels to scholarly essays to picture books printed on heavier cardboard to withstand the excitement of a rambunctious toddler.
“I calculated 30,000,” Friends President Linda Kubiak said on Tuesday morning, momentarily pausing from arranging more books under the large tent next to the library at 71. Franklin St. in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
As dozens of helpers scurried about, co-chairs Jane Frank and Kathleen Hannon paused to reminisce about the joys of visiting the Osterhout.
“I brought my children here for storytime,” Frank said, “and we’d come on Saturdays, just for fun.”
“I must have been 9 or 10 when I was first allowed to come by myself,” Hannon said, smiling as she added: “I remember the smell of the books when you came in. It was always such a quiet, comfortable space.”
When these busy volunteers get a chance to read, what do they choose?
“Everyone wants to read ‘The Women’,” Frank said, naming Kristin Hannah’s best-selling story of a woman who serves as a nurse in war-time Vietnam.
“I’ll read anything from Tolstoy to … it depends on my mood,” Hannon said, noting she’d been on the library’s waiting list for “Long Island,” Colm Toibin’s sequel to the novel “Brooklyn.”
So, what do you want to read?
A cookbook filled with health-conscious recipes? Maybe you’ll find “Just What the Doctor Ordered” by Harriet Wilinsky Goodman to be, well, just what the doctor ordered.
Maybe your kids are at the age where parenting expert Jamie Glowacki’s book “Oh Crap! Potty Training” would be helpful.
Or maybe you’re at an age where you’d like to compare hair experiences with Anne Kreamer, who wrote “Going Gray: What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Really Matters.”
Or maybe you’d just like to chuckle through “Aunt Erma’s Cope Book: How to Get from Monday to Friday … In 12 Days” by humorist Erma Bombeck.
Children’s books include “Jody and the Volcano,” “Little Loon and Papa,” and much more.
Vintage books include classics like “The Swiss Family Robinson,” “The Portrait of Dorian Grey” and even some Hardy Boys mysteries.
The ethnic books category offers Jewish legends and Chinese calligraphy, the education category serves up some “Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul” and you’ll find tables devoted to true crime, gardening, Western novels and to all things Christmas.
The tent book sale begins with a preview sale from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, June 7. Admission is $10.
The sale continues, with free admission, through Saturday, June 15, with prices ranging from $5 to 2 for $1.
Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 8; 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, June 11-13; 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 14; and 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, June 15.
Book sale specials:
• Saturday, June 8: Fidelity Bank will sponsor free, pre-packaged ice cream treats from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., while supplies last.
• Monday, June 10: There will be specials on religion books.
• Tuesday, June 11: There will be specials on cookbooks.
• Wednesday, June 12: Children’s Day — fill a bag with children’s books for $5. There will be prizes, raffle drawings and balloons while supplies last. The children’s librarian will offer crafts and, weather permitting, Handel’s Ice Cream Truck will be on hand, selling ice cream, with 20% of sales going to the Friends.
• Thursday, June 13: Special on hardcover mysteries.
• Friday, June 14: Half-price day.
• Saturday, June 15: Bag and box day. Fill a bag of books for $5, or fill a box for $10.
The Friends of the Osterhout Free Library was formed in 1972 and has since raised more than $650,000 for library programs, services and general operation. To learn more about membership or volunteering your time with the Friends of the Osterhout, contact Linda Kubiak, president, at lmkubiak@hotmail.com or call the library at 570-823-0156.