Closing the book on breaking up the Raycraft collection

After seven years Shaunna Raycraft has finally freed herself from the bonds of her books.

Raycraft felt compelled to rescue over 300,000 unsorted books from her neighbour’s firepit after the neighbour’s collector husband passed away.

She couldn’t watch them burn. What secrets could lie within those stacks and boxes? She took on the heaping mounds of books, moving them to her property with the goal of sorting them and giving them to those in need.

But over seven years the books became an impossible burden. Raycraft couldn’t do it alone. At wits end, she an- nounced in June that if she didn’t get any help sorting through the collection and donating them, she would burn the books herself.

The calls and emails started pouring in from across the country. In the past week, Raycraft and a team of about 20 volunteers sorted through 230,000 books.

“It’s amazing. I had a really great group of volun- teers come out and we really rocked it. It’s been good,” said Raycraft.

“I’m happy it’s over. It’s a good to close this chapter of my book ... I’ve basically eaten an elephant one bite at a time.”

She says she couldn’t have done it without the help of her volunteers. As she spoke 2,000 of those sorted books were being loaded onto a truck, bound for Africa. About 50,000 of the books are still bound for the recycling bin, compost heap and the burn pile.

Whatever isn’t donated or destroyed Raycraft will try to auction off by the box, sorted into subjects. She’s got books on every conceivable subject from art right through to woodworking and every sort of fiction, how-to guide and reference book in between.

There’s only one caveat. If you buy a box of books at this auction, Raycraft says, “you can’t open it on my property. I’m not even kidding.”

Anyone interested in attending the auction can get in touch with Raycraft by email at shaunnaray@yahoo.ca.