Books, LPs and band draw crowds to annual mid-winter sale
(Posted to Fairfield.Patch.com 1/15)
By Mike Lauterborn
© 2011. All Rights Reserved.
1/15/11
Southport, CT – They had books in their bags, a tune in their heads and a spring in their step as they merrily browsed a local book sale event that has become an area institution for more than a decade.
Saturday marked the opening day of Pequot Library’s 2011 Mid-Winter Book Sale. The popular event will continue Sunday noon-5 p.m. and Monday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and conclude Tuesday 9 a.m.-noon. Mostly fiction (hardcover and paperback) is offered but also children’s books and videos, LPs, vintage paperbacks, collector comic books, matted prints, audio books and videos. Admission is free and all proceeds benefit the library.
“We’ve been doing this about 15 years,” said Dan Snydacker, the library’s executive director. “It started as a way to empty out our storage area, but then became an event unto itself. And because it’s held mid-winter, it tends to be smaller and quieter than our summer book sale, and people like that flavor and intimacy.”
Enhancing the atmosphere of the sale this year is live blues music performed by Mark Naftalin and Friends, at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Naftalin is a nationally known blues piano player who performed with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Radio station WPKN 89.5FM) was onsite at the library providing a live on-air feed of Naftalin’s performance.
“The addition of the live music really adds a nice component,” said Snydacker. “Six years ago, Mark alone volunteered to play piano. Gradually, he has been joined by other musicians and friends and this has become an important and fun part of the event. And because the music is broadcast on WPKN, the event is essentially shared with people in a wide area along the East coast.”
Snydacker added that the inclusion of LPs in the sale has been a plus. “One of our hardest working volunteers, Paige Gillies, is coordinating our LP section. There are lots of great titles and they’re priced right. You may even find a great treasure as did a visitor this morning who found a very rare Beatles album.”
Snydacker said the sale is an important fundraiser for the library and, just from a morning money count, they were way ahead of last year’s revenue. Equally important though was the power of the sale to magnetize people. “There’s a social aspect wherein people really come together over books.”
Book browsers combed through titles, happy to be attending and to find key selections. “I wait for the book sale and buy fiction and history,” said Southporter Peg North. “I read book reviews all the time and count on their guidance. I look for prize winners, too, like The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx, which I really look forward to reading.”
Stamford resident Dee Ronaghan searched titles with a strategic approach. “I keep a small catalog of books that I’ve read or want so that I don’t double purchase,” she said. “It’s a system that seems to work for me. I tend to buy fiction and try to stick to the list, but I always see other interesting titles.”
Phyllis Heine came all the way from Scarsdale, NY for the sale. “We usually come to the summer sale but had time this weekend to attend the mid-winter event. You never know what you’re going to find. Sometimes it’s something you’ve been seeking for a long time. We always go to Mystery first, then Fiction Classics and Travel. The band was an unexpected treat… really a pleasure.”
New Canaan resident John Zannini, who was drawn to the sale by the live WPKN broadcast, was having a ball sifting through boxes of LPs. “I’m finding some amazing records – my whole personal history with music is here.”
Library volunteer Madlyn Karpinski was just glad to be out of The Dungeon, the basement space where she and a team of some 25 other volunteers sort and price the books, preparing them over a week’s time for the sale. She said, “While it’s a lot of work, it’s very rewarding to do and this is such a fun social event.”
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