Reid between the lines
Book sales benefit community
By Diane Beaudoin Journal Correspondent

One Ashburnham resident took a golden opportunity to turn an excess of books into a money-making proposition for the entire community.

Louise Reid served on the board of the Friends of the Ashburnham Library when she was asked to do what appeared to be an insurmountable chore.

"Cheryl Bradley, the librarian, asked me to go into the attic in the library and sort through books that had been sitting there for a long, long time. Little did I know, when I got up there, I was literally up to my hips in books," Reid said.

Sorting the books took her close to two years. The original request came as the members of the library personnel were concerned about the extra weight on the floor of the attic from the accumulated books.

The next obstacle Reid faced was where to store the salvagable books.

"I sorted them all, getting rid of books that had mold or were ripped and torn. I said I would store them in my garage, but I would decide where the money from selling them would go," Reid said.

She ended up keeping many craft and cooking books that were still in good condition, as well as fiction, romance, children's books and videos.

Reid then had to figure out how to store so many books, which posed a slight problem.

"If the books were going to be in my garage, I needed a way to store them so I could still utilize

my garage space for my car," she said. The solution, she determined, was to purchase some 10-gallon totes, which could stack on top of themselves and take up less floor space.

"I ended up with 80 ten gallon totes, that's how many books there were," she laughed.

Reid is coming up on her tenth book sale, noting she didn't keep records until her fourth sale, which was in the winter of 2005.

"I started keeping records at that sale, and I sold close to 4,000 books at that one," she said.

"People continue to donate books to me for sale, and I still have about 80 totes with around 100 or so books in each one," she said.

Reid said she sole more than 1,000 at Downtown Days last year.

"Downtown Days bring a lot of people out, there are things going on all over the common. It was a hot day so many people came into the senior center which is where I was set up," Reid said.

She will continue to hold book sales to raise money for various town needs, and has no shortage of books to vend.

"I have plenty of books, romance, children's and other types. I keep track now of what I have and what I sell so the trustees can know how many books came out of the library. As long as my car fits in the garage with the books, it's all right," she said.

Reid has forward $3,000 from the sales to the Friends of the Library. She has also donated funds to an abused-women's center, as well as local rest homes.

"The purpose of the book sales is not only to make money, but to see that the books are getting into good hands - children's hands," Reid said.

The other local non-profits that have benefited from Reid's sales are the Ashburnham Senior Center and the Forever Young Club. Another benefactor will be the committee raising money to build a new community center. She will also donate money to local food pantries in town later this year.

"I was thinking about food pantries and it makes me sad that people in Ashburnham and surrounding towns are going hungry," Reid said. "I thought if I gave them some donations before Thanksgiving and Christmas, they could use it for vouchers for fresh fruits and vegetables."

She said after each charity in town receives some of the proceeds, she may concentrate on the food pantries to be a continuing source to help out."

Reid will be hosting book sales during February and will again be on hand at the Downtown Days in Ashburnham in June.

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Diane Beaudoin is a correspondent for The Community Journal and can be reached at (978) 827-3386, ext. 10.

Louise Reid will host a series of Specialty Book Sales at the Ashburnham Senior Center, 1 Memorial Drive, on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon during the month of February.

Each week a different series of topics will be offered for sale with the following schedule. On Feb. 2, and 3 - Romances; on Feb. 8, 9, and 10 - Mysteries and True Crime; on Feb. 15, 16, and 17 - Espionage, Horror, War & Science Fiction; and on Feb. 22, 23, 24 - General & Historical Fiction, Short Stories, and Classics.