Reading is alive in Columbus.
On a warm Saturday afternoon, a small but steady crowd browsed shelves and tables lined with books in Leigh Mall during the Friends of the Library annual book sale to benefit the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library.
Book snobs and education pessimists can complain about television and video games all they like, but evidence at the mall refuted the death of reading.
First there were the numbers.
Doug Blount, a Friends of the Library volunteer, didn”t have exact sales figures on books sold or money raised Saturday, the sale”s third and final day, but he predicted it was on pace to be the best sale in the past eight to 10 years.
“We”ve had a real good sale. I have no idea how many (books have been sold),” said Blount.
Moving the sale back a week to avoid Spring Break, he said, was working to increase foot traffic browsing through the vast collection of donated books. Any leftovers will be boxed up and shipped to the Palmer Home Thrift Store.
The second indicator that books have retained their relevance was the diversity of those shopping in a given hour as well as their tastes in literature.
Stephanie Pate was at the mall with her children, Ginger, 9, and Bryce, 6, both students at New Hope Elementary, looking for some children”s classics.
Ginger held a small stack of books from two of her favorite series.
“I have some ”Sweet Valley High” and ”Baby-sitter”s Club,”” she announced, estimating she has more than 10 titles from each at home. “I”ve been reading them a lot in school.”
Brandon Boltwood and Michael Watkins, both 19, from Columbus, each browsed the “Religious” shelves.
“I”m just looking for books to learn more about different faiths,” said Boltwood, a recent Air Force enlistee, as he held a book about Islamic and Jewish faiths. “I”m just trying to see how other people live with their faiths, because I”m a Christian and I”m trying to help people with their faiths and show that not everybody is bad.”
Watkins, who will attend East Mississippi Community College next semester, had found a more specific muse.
“I found a Bible dictionary and a book on Mother Theresa. I just want to continue to learn and grow and Mother Theresa is one of the biggest inspirations in my life, so I really am excited about finding out more about her.”
April Wren, 23, of Fulton, a speech pathology student at Mississippi University for Women, was on the lookout for history books for her brother, a history teacher at Itawamba Agricultural School, but couldn”t contain her own interests.
“I found some Indian books, some stuff about Egypt — that”s for me — and some presidential information. I haven”t really found anything for him yet,” she admitted with a smile.
History was a popular selection at the book sale Saturday. Luberta Taylor, a retired teacher and current consultant for JBHM Education Group, stumbled upon a book about Sadye Wier, a teacher and home economist from Noxubee County.
“I didn”t know a lot of things about her, but she was a mover and shaker in her day in the field of education. I thought that was real interesting,” said Taylor.
Blount said nonfiction was moving off the shelves fastest, but Ron Verich, a visitor from Hot Springs, Ark., in town for his cousin”s daughter”s wedding, spotted a work of fiction that had particular significance.
“This is one author I sat next to on a plane: Sandra Brown. She was making a keynote address at a national convention for publishers. A very nice lady,” said Verich, who was browsing the library”s collection just to pass time.
Thelma Pugh, a two-time Columbus resident originally from England who returned last year from a stretch in Vermont, was back at the sale for a second helping. Friday she snatched up a series of cookbooks.
“I love cookbooks. I found a whole collection here yesterday,” said Pugh, who puts her culinary creations to good use. “We used to do a lot of bake sales and fundraisers for the Humane Society and now I do some volunteer work with Loaves and Fishes (Food Ministry).
“I just came back to look and see if I missed anything yesterday. I was in a hurry.”
George Barnes, who will take a supervisory position with the census effort in Columbus in May, was taking his time Saturday, filling a mid-sized cardboard box with potential purchases.
“I”ve got books on science, a bunch of nonfiction, maybe some novels,” he said as he rifled through the box of books, which contained further titles on men”s wardrobes, World War II, Joseph Stalin, baseball, attention deficit disorder, the Kennedy family, money management and several dictionaries.
An avid reader and book collector, Barnes is brushing up on his physics.
“I have an interest in physics but don”t have much detailed knowledge in it. It”s a pretty esoteric field. But I”m just learning about general topics. A little math. A little chemistry,” said Barnes.
Proceeds from the Friends of the Library book sale will go to the library to help supplement its budget.
“They”re taking cuts too,” said Blount of the library. “They”re having to restrict some activities, like buying new books.”
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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