By now you probably have heard that the Mifflin County Library is no longer accepting books for the annual book sales. Don’t worry! This is only temporary.

But I know some of you are concerned that we’ll never have a book sale ever again. Because at this last book sale in September, some customers were surprised that we had books for sale that were published before the year 2000.

I heard people saying, “I thought you didn’t take donations of books before 2000.” And I admit, I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about at first. Then I remembered. When we reopened after our Covid closures in late 2020, we weren’t able to accept a lot of books. We limited what we took to only new books because we didn’t have the help. Covid rules only allowed for one volunteer at a time in our room. And even though that was almost three years ago, that’s what is remembered.

Please know and remember that this hold on donations is just temporary. Help us celebrate our exciting news! MCL will have extensive renovations. This renovation work will last a year. But it could also last a little bit longer than that. Right now, we aren’t sure. We’re still planning. You will be surprised to see empty shelves. However if you want a tour of our potential plans, I’d be happy to show you and talk about them. In fact, once I get started, it’s actually hard for me to stop.

Let’s also remember that we have a branch in Belleville. The Kish Branch Library. Even though we aren’t accepting books for the book sale, we will be selling the remaining books that we have. The book sale at Kish Library will be:

Tuesday, Dec. 5 from noon- 3 p.m.; 4-6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 9 a.m.-noon; 1-3:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m.-noon; 1-3:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 9 from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Each day, we’ll add more and different books to purchase. There will be children’s books, DVDs, audiobooks, newer book titles as well as older book titles. Yes, before 2000. There will be a few puzzles to sell.

Hardback books are $2 and paperbacks are $1. Saturday is the special day; fill a bag that we provide for $5. By Saturday, everything must go!

There will be a freebie bin with odds and ends. Kish Library is also selling two coat racks as well as a few folding chairs.

If you’ve never been to the Kish Library, now is the time to visit. To some people, it seems like Belleville is so far away. In reality, the distance from Reedsville to Belleville is the same as Reedsville to Lewistown. There are a lot of options also in Belleville. You could make a day of it and visit the Big Valley Thrift and Gift.

We hope to see you at the Kish Book Sale. For the time being we will not take donations, even at Kish.

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Susan Miriello is the Executive Director at the Mifflin County Library. New large print books recently added to the collection include: Lazy H Feud by Ed La Vanway; When you are Mine by Michale Robotham; and Silvertip’s Search by Max Brand.