By Carole Howard and the Library Staff

Donations of new or gently used books and other materials like magazines, videos, CDs and DVDs are vital to the ongoing operation of the library. Without your help, our collection would be much less robust. In fact, in 2006 we received more than 11,000 books and materials from you – a huge figure that shows how much we rely on your generosity to serve our community well.

Many donors ask us what happens to their donations, especially if they do not see them on the library’s shelves. Here is the process. Let’s take a donated book as an example.

• The first step is to check to see if we do not have that book in the library and want to add it to the collection. If yes, it is catalogued and put on the shelves.
• If we already have the book, we will see if the donated one is in better condition. If yes, we will replace our older book with the newer donated copy.
• If the donated book is not needed in the collection, we still are grateful to receive it because we can sell it to raise money to buy other books and materials. Books in so-so condition are put on the “For Sale” carts in the library and sold for greatly discounted prices of 50 cents for hardbacks and 25 cents for paperbacks. Books in good condition are saved for the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale where they still are a bargain for buyers. This year’s book sale July 20-21 raised more than $5,000 for the library.

What books can we not use? Mostly the answer revolves around dated non-fiction materials. Old medicine books cannot be added to the collection, of course, because current knowledge is essential to health and safety in medical fields. Similarly, travel books with out-of-date hotel and restaurant information are not useful. Nor are old atlases with countries no longer in existence, tax books discussing old tax law, or books extolling old technology – especially about computers. Generally speaking textbooks are of no interest to our patrons, especially those covering specialized fields. Trendy business books that now are passé also are not popular. Nor are news magazines any older than a few weeks.

What types of donated books do we like best? Our favorites are your favorites. Experience plus your responses to surveys over the years have taught us you like a wide variety of books from bestsellers to classics, fiction and non-fiction.

At the top of your wish lists are mysteries, historical fiction, biographies and children’s books. Also very popular are westerns, science fiction, arts and crafts, home repair and language books. Other important categories for many of you include books to assist home-schoolers, Christian fiction, large-type books and books for teens.

English-born Alfred North Whitehead, a mathematician and philosopher, once said that “No one achieves success without the help of others.” That is certainly true of our library – and we are grateful for the generosity of all our donors.

Lifelong Learning lectures

Mark your calendars for the start of the Fall Lifelong Learning lecture series. October 6 brings us “Pagosa Springs: The beginning years,” given by historian John Motter, author of “Pagosa Country: The First Fifty Years.” The second lecture on October 13 will be “Speaking truth to power: The art of political cartooning, the presidency and the run-up to the 2008 presidential election,” presented by Judith Reynolds, who is a journalist, history professor and political cartoonist. All lectures take place on Saturday afternoons at 3 p.m. at the library and are free to the public. Next week we will publish the full fall schedule.

Historical novels

“A Sudden Country” by Karen Fisher, named one of the year’s “Books to Remember” by the New York Public Library, explores the complex relations among traders, immigrants and native Americans in the 1840s. “Wickett’s Remedy” by Myla Goldberg tells of the terrifying times just after America entered the First World War as the 1918 influenza epidemic swept through Boston. “McKettrick’s Choice” by Linda Lael Miller is a historical romance set in Texas in the days of mail-order brides.

Crime fiction

“Stay” by Nicola Griffith is a New Wave detective story featuring a six feet tall woman named Aud Torvingen who has blonde hair, blue eyes and amazing skills as an investigator. Its sequel is “The Blue Place,” also available at the library. “A Thousand Bones” by P.J. Parrish, featuring the only female detective in the Miami police department’s homicide division, tells of a string of brutal murders of young women. “ Mercy Falls” by William Kent Krueger is the latest in the award-winning Corcoran O’Connor detective series. “Last Look” by Mariah Stewart reopens a murder case where the alleged killer was convicted and executed after the supposedly murdered woman is found recently stabbed. “Justice Denied” by J.A. Jance weaves the stories of an ex-drug dealer’s murder with the unnaturally high number of deaths among sex offenders, each being investigated by fellow cops and lovers.

Mysteries and thrillers

“Drop Dead Beautiful” by Jackie Collins is the story of a beautiful woman and her daughter who face multiple dangers as they prepare to open a multibillion-dollar hotel complex in Las Vegas. In “The Blue Rose: An English Garden Mystery,” author and gardener Anthony Eglin weaves in plenty of horticultural references to this murder mystery. “Kidnapped” by Jan Burke is the story of the search for answers after a man is murdered and his young daughter disappears. “The First Commandment” by Brad Thor features a Navy SEAL turned Homeland Security operative who faces terrorists single-handedly after five prisoners are secretly released from Guantanamo.

Humorous novels

“At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances” is the first of three new comic novels by Alexander McCall Smith, who became famous as the author of the bestselling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. “And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You” by Kathi Kamen Goldmark follows a sexy singer as she catapults from struggling backup singer to blazing star on the country music scene.

Thanks to our donors

Our thanks this week for books and materials from Beverly Anciaux, Meryle Backus, Jerome Baier, Marian Borgstrom, Gwen Fisher, Connie Gabriel, Dot Jones, Marie Layton, Mary McDonald, Bruce Muirhead, Janet Parkes, Grace Qualls, Vimmie Ray, Gary Reed and Steve Rogers.

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