The uniqueness of Juneau is more than its spectacular setting, invigorating climate, or many hiking trails. The Friends of the Library Bookstore in the Airport Mall is unique and special. No wonder it’s called the Amazing Book Store. What other community has 50-75 people volunteer weekly for 2 ½ to 20 hours to sort, shelf, and sell donated books for .25 cents on up? The shelves bulge with 10’s of 1000’s of books! After the rent and utilities are paid, the “profit” is used to help the public library. Because this has been going on for nearly 30 years the Friends of the Library Board was able to make a commitment toward the new Valley Library of $1,000,000. Think how many hours and books were donated to make this one million dollar commitment possible?
My wife, one of the many volunteers, related this week of a college age young man who filled two bags with books: not cheap novels, but non-fiction and enduring classics. The total came to just over $12. He said “I just love this store, do you know how much this would cost if I was paying full price?” To the many volunteers of the Amazing Book Store: THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO TO MAKE JUNEAU SUCH A UNIQUE COMMUNITY!
Paul D. Beran
Juneau
Comments (1)
Add commentThat's an amazing accomplishment
And kudos to all of those volunteers. But I'm still not convinced that Juneau needs a second library in the Valley.
Someone needs to make a compelling case why the library is needed. The fact that enduring classics are selling for 25 cents indicates something.
How would a modern library be relevant in today's internet world? Who would be the users?
I love libraries and have the fondest memories of them while growing up. But building and operating an expensive institution for nostalgia's sake is not good public policy.