When you visit one of Washington state’s top-ranked libraries, right here on Orcas Island,  you will notice the space for lobby bookshelves has greatly increased. This additional space allows the Friends of the Library to offer a greatly expanded number of books for you to purchase at loooow prices.  We’re including many categories  (clearly marked) so now you can peruse fiction, non-fiction, mystery, cookbooks, boating, sports, biography, history, travel, nature, etc.

Another change that the Friends of the Library has had to make involves everyone who donates books for the two big sales we have annually:  we can only use books in good condition. What’s our definition of good condition? Books older than five years are not usually useful to most of us if they are technical in nature (i.e.  Windows for 2001) or text books. If they are donated, Friends has to pay for recycling with funds we would rather give to the library. Books that are dirty, moldy, smelly, burnt, chewed, wet, or with broken spines are also not considered in good condition. It is easy, really.  We love your donations of books that are in the kind of condition you would expect if someone gave them to you.

As a reminder, we have already stopped accepting encyclopedias, cassettes and homemade CDs or DVDs.

Hopefully Orcas Islanders will understand our need to upgrade the materials that we display for your pleasure at the book sales in August (the date is the 13th this year) and February.

Sandra Wilson

Friends of the Library