Submitted photos
Book Cellar volunteers Nancy Chrismer (left) and Marilyn Macoy stand with boxes of donated books that are ready to be shelved.

MIFFLINTOWN — With their basement shelves bursting with books, the Friends of the Juniata County Library are hoping readers will come to their rescue. 

The Friends have opened their Book Cellar at the library, located at 498 Jefferson St., Mifflintown, from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays. The Book Cellar is where the Friends store books and other materials that are for sale. 

“The Friends decided to open the Book Cellar temporarily to make room for more books,” said Friends of the Juniata County Library Publicity Chairperson Virginia Haubert. 

The shelves in the Book Cellar are filled with a wide assortment of hardback fiction and non-fiction books, along with reference books. The organization recently received 80 to 90 boxes of books, “with more to come,” she added. “A lot of them are just like new.” 

There are also craft manuals, folk art painting books with patterns, do-it-yourself project books, audio books and a variety of magazines, including the Smithsonian and Architectural Digest. There are also lots of children’s books, priced for 25 cents, and young adult books. 

The Friends are trying the Monday sale as an experiment. If it proves successful, they will consider remaining open into the spring. 

Haubert said they came up with the idea when volunteers routinely started sorting and shelving books on Monday mornings. 

“We figured as long as we’re here, why don’t we open this to the public so they can buy books,” Haubert said. “Hopefully, they’ll buy and make more room for books, and their donations will make money for the library.” 

Friends’ volunteers were shocked with the sales figures from the first sale, which had very little publicity, Haubert said of the Jan. 9 sale (the library was closed on Jan. 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Day). “We had quite a few people who came in. They saw the sign in the library and came down. We’re thankful for that.” 

Haubert said prices will vary from the usual book sale prices. Instead of selling books by the bag, hardback books will be priced at $2 each, and paperback books, CDs and DVDs will be $1 each. 

“The Friends count on public support for their projects,” she said. “Remember, every book purchased adds money to support the Juniata County Library.” 

State funding for the library continues to lag, while use of the library has increased. Therefore, the Friends’ role has become much more important.

The Friends work hard to help the library reduce costs by volunteering to do various jobs. They also raise money so the library can continue to provide its usual services. 

“We will generally help fund the summer reading program,” Haubert said. “We bought prizes for the contests last year. And we can even just give the library a donation if they don’t have a specific project or item they want to purchase.”  

In the past, she said the Friends assisted the library with upgrading technology, defraying housekeeping costs like cleaning the carpets and buying shades for windows, and paying for landscaping expenses. 

For more information, call (717) 436-6378 or visit www.juniatacountylibrary.org or you can find them on Facebook.