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BUSINESS: Used book store benefits Princeton Public Library

By John Saccenti, Staff Writer
   PRINCETON — On the surface, there is little difference between the Princeton Public Library and similar institutions throughout the country — thousands of titles available for reading and borrowing.
   But just inside, through the large glass doors and past the café, there is a section that stands out among the books. Since March, the Friends of the Library has been running a gently used book store, with proceeds going to back to the library.
   ”The library is such a big part of the community, so people are just there, and one of the stops they make is our book store,” said Friends member Sherri Garber. “We have a wonderful little section for children in the back with small stools, so moms are always there with their kids letting them select books. There’s a surprising number of young people who use it, older people, university people. It’s a nice mix.”
   While it may seem odd for a bookstore to set up shop in a public library, it is not unusual for libraries to offer books for sale. The Friends of the Library has been selling books to benefit the library for 20 to 25 years through its annual book sale and by way of a few items made available throughout the year. Money raised through those efforts are small compared to the $4,500 a month the store has averaged since it opened.
   ”We’ve been doing great,” said Ms. Garber. “Our sales have been increasing every month and all our sales go to the library to help buy new material. So it’s really useful, especially during a time of budget cutbacks. We have a wonderful group of volunteers that work on it.”
   The shop opened in the spring after a Friends gift shop in the library had to close. Specializing in knick knacks, pens and book related items, the shop simply did not generate enough interested or revenue.
   ”It was to raise money for the library, and when we weren’t raising money, we had to close it,” said Ms. Garber. “(Library Director) Leslie Berger offered us the space for a book store. The space is beautiful. It’s been building and building. It’s run entirely by volunteers.”
   With a generous community of book lovers making donations to the library, the store has no shortage of great reads. Classics, mysteries, science books, a history and politics section, cookbooks and art books are all available for purchase and start at $1 for mass paperbacks, $2 for higher quality paperbacks and $3 for hardcovers. And, with the philosophy of “if its not something you would want to take to bed, then we wouldn’t want to put it in the store,” everything is in good condition
   ”You name it, we’ve got it,” said Ms. Garber. “We have a great children’s section, all kinds of fiction and non fiction. Because we’re in Princeton, we have great donations coming in all the time. High end stuff.”
   Donations of good books in good condition are always welcome except for textbooks, magazines and encyclopedias.
   To arrange for a donation of a large numbers of books, to ask for assistance moving books to the library, call the friends at 609-924-9529, ext. 280.
   Small donations may be dropped off at the library’s delivery entrance accessible from the Wiggins Street driveway from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
jsaccenti@centraljersey.com. 