Around Town

Friendly Faces Lead New Canaan Library Book Sale

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Karen Willett and Geri Tobias responded last fall to New Canaan Library’s call for volunteers to help lead the organization’s biennial and hugely popular Book Sale for different reasons. Willett, a resident of New Canaan for just about six months at the time, had moved up here with her family after 15 years in New York City, including two young boys, was looking for ways to get out into the community and loves libraries. Tobias, a North Stamford resident whose two boys go to the New Canaan YMCA and who calls New Canaan Library her “home” library because it’s closest to her residence, wanted to try something different and do something fun for herself. This year’s sale “is a little different, with more quality books” and “the fact that we have so many decorations around that are tied to the holiday,” Tobias said Friday afternoon as bibliophiles, readers and dealers streamed into Adrian Lamb Room downstairs for the bulk of the sale, and also into the art gallery beside the children’s section where kids’ books once again are sold and featured for this sale. The New Canaan Library Book Sale will through 5 p.m. Friday, then 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday (when all books will be $5 per bag).

Around Town

Online Auction: Getting a Jump on the New Canaan Library Book Sale (This Week)

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New Canaan Library this year added a new component—an online auction of rare books on eBay (including this first edition of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little Town on the Prairie,” with dust jacket—to its popular, annual book sale. An important part of the library’s fundraising efforts, the volunteer book sale—with books, audio books and DVDs all donated by local supporters—will run in the Adrian Lamb Room 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday (all books are $5 per bag on Sunday and there’ll be a special sale of children’s books in the H. Pelham Gallery on the main level). Bibliophiles can pay $15 to get into the very first two hours of the sale (9 to 11 a.m. Friday)—a period when organizer Karen Willett says 50-plus early birds, including a lot of dealers, will get in to snag great buys they can resell at a profit. Library Director Lisa Oldham described Willett as “the volunteer who came to us last autumn to run the winter book sale and who has taken this production to new heights,” and we had a chance to put some questions to Willett about the popular book sale. Here’s our exchange.