It’s a Win-Win: Buy a Popular Book, Support the CWU Brooks Library

Even in an age of increasing reliance on electronic communication and resources, university libraries continue to be a center of student academics, serve a vital role in faculty and staff research and scholarship, and offer an important community resource. CWU's James L. Brooks Library is a prime example of all three.

"More books are being sold than ever despite the rise of electronics," said CWU Dean of Library Services Rebecca Lubas. "Even though electronic books have their place, people still love that experience of interacting with print, especially for pleasure reading-they really like to hold a book in their hands. It's not a generational thing."

To help off-set the increasing costs of providing a wide range of services in the Brooks Library, the CWU Friends of the Library (FOL) will hold its annual book sale October 31 to November 2.

"The sale helps bring people to the library to build their own printed collections, while also having the chance to see everything else we offer," she adds.

The sale will be held from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Campus parking will be free after 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and all day Saturday.

In conjunction with the sale, trick-or-treat candy will be provided on Halloween, while on Saturday, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., a "bag of books" can be purchased for $10.

To be held in the newly refurbished Brooks Library entrance foyer, not only is the location updated, so are the books that will be offered. No longer is the sale comprised typically of textbooks. It's now a popular books sale.

"We've got a huge variety of fiction, biographies-everyone from Benjamin Franklin to contemporary individuals, from just about any time period-history, travel, and an entire shelf dedicated to children and young adults," notes CWU geography professor Robert Hickey, FOL vice chair, who is helping to organize this year's event. "You can, pretty much, pick any author from the last 30 years who had a popular book and there's a good chance we have a copy."

Some specific books for sale will include autographed editions from Buzz Aldrin, one of the first two astronauts to ever set foot on the moon; Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier; and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In addition, CDs and DVDs will be available.

Established in 1961, FOL presents the annual sale to raise funds for the acquisitions of books, electronic databases, films, journals, musical scores, maps, and other recordings. Through the book sale, and other events, the Friends of the Brooks Library Endowment Fund is now able to contribute about $7,000 annually to library operations.

"There is a desire from people on- and off-campus to engage with books, literature, and the printed word," Lubas adds. "The book sale is one way to do that. And the fact that it raises some money for the library at the same time is awesome."

The goal is to raise a minimum of $1,000 from this year's sale, according to Hickey, who admits to a having a personal reason for his involvement with it: "I'm a book nerd and my mother was a university library dean," he points out. "She was a children's librarian when I was little-I grew up in libraries and I love them. So, this is a way for me to give back to something that is important to me."

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Media contact: Maureen Rust, CWU University Libraries, Student Engagement and Community Outreach Librarian, 509-963-2102, maureen.rust@cwu.edu

Photo: New artwork in the Brooks Library entry foyer.