All these books

The Tehachapi Library just completed another summer full of programs for the children and teens of Tehachapi, and plans are already being made for various programs for the rest of the year. Events are planned for kids, teens and even adults. The Friends of the Library provides the primary funding for all of these programs with a lot of support from local businesses.

Well, sort of. Do you know where it really all starts? The foundation upon which everything else is built? You – and all the books that get donated to the Friends of the Library. These books are where all the money for the Library’s programs begin.

And folks have been bringing books in by boxes and bags. And even with a limit of a couple boxes a day the number of books coming in is big. All these books have to be sorted. Some of the donated books turn out to be antiques, or rare, or in some other way special. These are put aside and volunteers do research to determine their value, and then these are set aside for the Antique and Specialty Book Sales now being held in conjunction with the other Big Book Sales (about three times a year, the next coming up on Oct. 12).

Books are categorized by condition and category, then either put in the continuing book sale downstairs in the Library or saved for the large seasonal sales. Given all the books coming in, the Friends of the Library has added new policies to try to ensure that for each sale there will be a lot of fresh inventory. Sometimes this will mean that some books will go on to other charitable organizations for their own fundraising.

The Friends of the Library could use more help with all the sorting of books. Currently this is happening on Mondays (10 a.m. to noon) and Fridays (8 to 10 a.m.). If you think you’d like to get involved, contact the Friends of the Library by email at [email protected] or call or text (661) 750-2818. You can even just show up to help out. The Friends of the Library meet at 11 a.m. on the First Friday of the month, and you’re all welcome.