Crowds flock to library book sale of century

June 2000

It is a case of the early bird catching the bargain as hundreds of readers descend on Dundalk library for a sale of the century.

Surprised staff have to limit the numbers entering as queues of people form looking for volumes at knock-down prices.

Assistant librarian Peter Murphy admits he and his colleagues are taken aback by the numbers who turn up.

‘I thought we would run the sale for two weeks, now it looks like there will be little left by the end of the week.’

The library organises the sale to dispose of 10,000 books which are no longer part of the lending stock.

With hardback non-fiction going for 20p a copy and fiction for 10p, it is no wonder readers make a bee-line for the library like it is the January sales.

While ‘ The Rough Guide to Yugoslavia’ from the early 80s is certainly out of date, the 1971 Yearbook provides the opportunity to look back on the previous year which saw Rolf Harris spend four weeks at the top of the charts with his song ‘ Two Little Boys’, and the deaths of music icons Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, as well as the safe return of the Apollo 13 crew from looping around the moon after their intent to land was aborted.

Works by one-time popular novelists Pearl S Buck and Lloyd C Douglas languish on the shelves, passed over as people seek other gems.

Worthy biographies, histories and out-of-date reference books are searched through by the hopeful.

One successful shopper carries an armful of old football annuals, perhaps regretting misplacing or throwing out the editions he had as a youngster, while many others declare an intention to return the next day to seek more bargains from the stock yet to be placed on the shelves.

Children too are out to add to their own libraries.