Book lovers in Morningside Heights have suffered yet another blow.
The New York Public Library recently decided to discontinue all in-store library sales, and at the Morningside Heights branch on Broadway between 112th and 113th streets, Saturday marked the final such sale.
Book donations, previously sold daily in the library and at larger all-day book sales, will now be sold entirely through a contracted online agency, officials at the local branch confirmed.
Over 200 people came to the final sale on Saturday, according to Winnie Falcon, the head volunteer on site, yet many books were left unsold at the end of the day.
For some local residents, this marks the end of an era. Falcon has been in the neighborhood book business for 40 years, and started running these library sales when the Morningside Heights branch opened in 2001.
“I just don’t think you browse online. It’s not the same as looking at a bookshelf and finding books you never knew existed,” Falcon said. “Customers find something. They didn’t come in looking to a buy a book, looking for a title. They browse.”
The library prices the majority of books at $1, and a few from $2 to $5. From Saturday’s sale of books, records, and DVDs, the library earned around $1,500, Falcon said.
Susanna Wachtel, a longtime Morningside Heights resident, said the decision to end the book sales was a mistake, adding that she had left money to the library in her will but is now reconsidering.
“I just can’t believe they’re doing this—we’re losing community,” Wachtel said. “These sales are like an exchange. Participating is like experiencing part of the joy. The Morningside Heights community gathers here, and it’s things like this that make life worth living.”
Head library staff said that, though it would be a loss to the community, the level of upset was somewhat uncalled for.
A site manager for the branch who declined to give her name since she had not cleared her statement with the citywide public relations department said that, though the absence of sales may directly affect the library, she expects patrons will still greatly benefit from the branch.
“We will still have the books on the shelves free of charge for patrons,” she said. “I don’t think they’ll be losing anything, really.”
Linda Gallo, a local resident of 30 years, disagreed, saying the sales were a weekly routine for her.
“The library’s selection is limited and doesn’t have as many interesting titles,” Gallo said. “I look forward to this and get myself over here once a week. It was always one of the pleasures for me in my life.”
According to the volunteers, profits from the sales have helped the branch purchase accessories for the library, including a projector, video equipment, stools for the librarians, and the rugs for the children’s reading area.
On Saturday, Renana Shvil came to the sale with her three-year old daughter and said that while online shopping is reserved for specific needs, “Here I look around, find something—browse.”
At the end of the sale, volunteer Irene Marcuse sat down with a stack of green sheets of paper she had encouraged patrons to use to write their opinions about the book sale. Many begged the library not to shut down the sales. Some cited personal relationships with the sales, some said they feared the loss of such a resource during a recession, and others lamented the larger issues of a dying book culture.
“It brought a community into the library, and got a conversation going. They’re going to go online now,” Marcuse said, randomly plucking from the stack a book about birds.
She added, “If you don’t know that you want ‘Birds: Their Life, Their Ways, Their World,’ you’re not going to be exposed to it.”
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