By MADDY VITALE
Books were flying off the shelves, well, tables actually, during a one-day book sale at the Ocean City Free Public Library on Friday.
The sale was held in the library atrium from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It was sponsored by the Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Free Public Library, the library’s fundraising group. All of the proceeds from the book sale benefit the library, which is located inside the Ocean City Community Center at 1735 Simpson Ave.
Elaine Wilson, of the Friends and Volunteers, said the next big sale is in March, but due to an overflow of donations of books and other items, from generous members of the community, the group decided to hold one featuring fiction, paperbacks and children’s books Friday.
“We have had so many moms and children in today buying so many books – children’s books, picture books and fiction,” Wilson noted. “We love our library and it is so wonderful to see so many customers leaving with stacks and bags of books.”
By 1 p.m., book lovers and other browsers flipped through pages of books and selected from neatly arranged boxes filled with audio books, DVDs and CDs.
For Lauren Deckard, of Ocean City, the question wasn’t what book her 3-year-old son Silas would choose, but how many.
“He loves anything with ghosts,” she said with a laugh.
Within minutes, Silas had found four books to his liking. One was about the ever-popular cartoon character “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
“I like SpongeBob,” Silas exclaimed, holding up the book. “And ghosts!”
And to that, he picked up a children’s Halloween book.
Deckard, whose mom was a librarian, said she is passing her love of books onto her son.
“Really, watching Silas with the books opens up a whole new world,” she said.
She added that the book sale, which featured books ranging in price from a quarter to a couple of dollars, is always a favorite for the mother-son duo.
“The books are in amazing condition,” Deckard said.
Each year, the Friends and Volunteers host book sales. It is a way to freshen the library’s collection of books and other items, and also gives people the chance to buy books at special, discounted rates.
Janice and Stewart Cohen, of Ocean City, brought a stack of books up to Friends and Volunteers members Denise Halbe and Linda Robie to purchase.
The Cohens joked that they would likely read and return the books for the next sale.
For just a few dollars, they bought four books from their favorite fiction authors and an author they wanted to give a try.
“I can’t wait to read this one,” Janice said, pointing to an author she heard so much about.
“It’s a long winter,” Stewart said with a chuckle. “We have a lot of time to read.”
For more information, visit the Ocean City Free Public Library at www.oceancitylibrary.org
