By LAURA BROOKHART / Community Columnist

“Almost $400 was raised at the Jane B. Holmes Public Library Fall Book Sale and Birthday Celebration,” said Director Dan Dearing. “The Friends of the Library were instrumental in helping with publicity and organizing the book drive.”
“People may not realize it,” Dearing added, “but a lot of work goes into our sale. Thanks to everyone who volunteers at the library.”
”Many people who come for the book sale are often surprised by the wide variety of FREE material and services available, and they become regulars.”
At the library, I ran into a friend who had been sorting out her personal bookshelves with the intent of contributing to the sale and we ended up having quite a chat:
“I have so, so many books,” she began. “My parents were avid readers of newspapers, books, magazines and great lovers of history and humor.”
“When I was young, a new book was frequently the present they chose for me; if I asked a question, they would buy me a book about it. My mother never told me the facts of life, she just laid an informative book on my bedside table.”
“My father was a great fan of Pogo, (the Walt Kelly comic strip that ran from about 1948-1973) and I just came across the 1963 book that provoked my father to warble around the house during the holidays, ’Deck us all with Boston Charlie, Walla Walla Wash an’ Kalamazoo.”
“I have books from my earliest childhood, the first book I remember being read to me—a very small Tweety Bird book with large print.”
“I loved the Beanie and Tough Enough series, A is for Annabelle by Tasha Tudor, and every Peanuts book written. At our house, Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and Schroeder ruled and were quoted definitively almost daily.”
“Even though I can part with the books I likely will never reread, I suspect that many others will be kept until my end. They have been such good friends,” my friend said with feeling.
Make friends with your public library. Feel free to call 664-8308 and ask for Daniel Dearing, Library Director, if you have questions. Online, click on library at
Cityofhelena.org.