KOLOA — A book authored by Osama bin Laden was just one of the exotic finds at the Koloa Public/School Library book sale that opened yesterday.
Tamiko Asahi, one of the Friends of the Koloa Library who was on the opening shift, said people came from all over the island to be there when the doors opened at 9 a.m.
Asahi said one man came all the way from Kekaha because he said that Waimea Public Library doesn’t have a book sale because they don’t have volunteers (to run the book sale).
Others, like Anki Strom of Sweden, were quietly browsing through the offerings, discovering the Bin Laden book, and quickly moving another book over it. It was book on how to be a terrorist.
Strom was visiting with her cousin, Marie Case, who came to the event last year and, within 10 minutes of arriving, had already found enough material that she had to deposit her findings on a spare shelf while returning to browse some more.
Offerings included reasonably-priced books laid out on tables, boxes of VHS video tapes, CDs, DVDs, and cassette tapes.
Prices vary depending on the book title, but there are bargains galore, as a sign touted, “Books $1, Cassette tapes 50 cents, CDs 75 cents, DVDs $1, and video $1.”
“Look at what I bought for only $4!” exclaimed Judy Berberet, who was shopping with Pat Swanson, both ladies hailing from the Chicago area.
“Actually, we came here just for this,” Berberet said.
“We saw the sign, and that’s how we found out about it,” said Swanson, whose son owns a condominium here. That allows the ladies to keep returning to the book sale that is held normally twice a year.
“Now, we just look for the signs,” Berberet said. “We have lots of time, so we read a lot.”
Koloa Public/School Head Librarian David Thorp said the Friends normally host the book sale once in March, and once in October.
Thorp said that proceeds will be used to purchase new equipment and materials for the library.
Carolyn and Sandy Stidham were looking for books to have in their rental unit, and found more than they were looking for.
“We wanted books on Hawai’i, but those weren’t available at this sale. But, the ones we found were pretty good,” Carolyn Stidham said, opening her bag to display their purchases that included books on Japan, as well as other titles encompassing the Japanese culture.
While waiting, Carolyn Stidham talked about a recent discovery she made on the Internet during a conversation revolving around the importance of literacy, and the dismaying articles in the newspapers about how Hawai’i’s fourth-graders are ranked eighth from the bottom in literacy tests.
Carolyn Stidham said that, while surfing the Net, they discovered a remarkable site that centers around life at an African water-hole, after reading about it in a National Geographic site.
“Everyone should visit it,” she said. “It is a live shot that is manned during the daylight hours, and free-roaming during the nights.”
The Stidhams had brought in some books when they arrived, but left with more than they came with.
Between the surges of customers, volunteers straightened the tables, put out additional titles to replace the books that had been scooped up, and in that process found items of interest that they set aside for purchase when they returned to their checkout posts.
Asahi, whose shift had ended, went to seek out more cookbooks, a favorite pastime for her.
Thorp said, “It’s (the sale) a really good way to recycle books.”
The sale continues from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, Friday, Oct. 21. For more information, people may call 742-8455.
