As the leaves have started to turn on campus, so have the pages in Kinlaw Library. Monday marked the start of the annual Kinlaw Library Book Sale, a week-long event in the lobby of the library. Thousands of books from various genres are up for sale, drawing from children’s books, science, sociology, Christian studies and more.
“The Kinlaw book sale is always a fun time at the library,” said Library Operations Manager Shelby Lykins. “It’s a great opportunity to find your next favorite read at a bargain price. Personally, I enjoy getting to see what people are interested in reading or learning about. Plus, it lets me get to know others on campus on a more personal level.”
The book sale is a chance for Kinlaw, as both a university and community library, to connect with students, staff and members of the Wilmore community, while also raising money for the operating budget. The books are affordable, selling hardbacks for $2 and paperbacks for $1.
In preparation for the sale, books were weeded out of the collections or drawn from those donated to the library.
It was a time-consuming process, as the selections were based on a variety of criteria. Lykins and the other managers of the library looked at the information in the books and decided whether it was outdated (especially in the science and health-related content). They also checked the physical condition of the books and for duplicates of other copies in the collection.
The library is consistently dedicated to providing the best quality scholarly resources for Asbury. The book sale is not just a way to keep the library collections up-to-date but to give students what they need to thrive in college. The educational studies and curriculum of the university is a priority to the staff at Kinlaw, so this is a good way to sell older books and use the money to improve the books available to students and staff.
Once all of the books were compiled, Library Circulation Supervisor Alexea McMahan sorted them by genre or topic so that it would be easier for those purchasing them to find exactly what they are looking for.
“We always hope to sell as many as possible, but we will donate whatever we don’t sell to an organization that re-houses them in collections that are in need of new material,” Lykins explained.
The sale is still going on. Kinlaw is open today until 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Featured images by Max Bramer.
