New Albany-Floyd County Public Library

We provide funding and labor for library programs above what tax dollars support.
We manage and staff two book sales a month.
We offset the cost and help with the mailing of the library newsletter.
We host a Holiday Party for children every December.
We encourage and support library staff with staff appreciation and in-service programs.

The Friends of the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library was founded in 1982. We have an active membership of about 200. Our purpose is to:

Be a liaison between the library management and the public
Focus public attention on the library
Stimulate use of the library's services

What will you get if you become a Friend?

New friends ... book lovers just like you.
Quarterly newsletter telling about all that is happenign at the library.
Invitation to the annual business meeting and "Friends only" book sale.
Voice in the decisions of the Friends.
Opportunity to volunteer ... sorting and selling books, or working on other projects.
A bargain, since membership dues are very affordable and tax deductible.
A great sense of pride as you help our library and community!

Friends Answering Machine/Book Store 812-949-3739

Friends News

Friends of the Library August 7 Book Sale

Dear Friends and Book Lovers, Mercy! We have been inundated with books and videos and books on tape and CD! It’s been three weeks since we’ve had a book sale and it shows. Today we received another large donation of books but simply did not have the room or the time to put them all out. Some of it will have to wait until next week. Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of Margaretha Zelle MacLeod, better known as Mata Hari (1876-1917). As a young woman, she married a Dutch colonial officer and went to Java, where she learned Indonesian dance and took the stage name of Mata Hari (“eye of dawn” or sun” in Indonesian). Her marriage was not a success and she returned to Europe where she found fame as an exotic dancer and courtesan. On October 15, 1917, having been accused of being a German spy, she was executed by a French firing squad. The probability that she was innocent is high. In her honor, we are saluting women of courage and daring and offering you a discount of 50% on all books in our Biography Section. In addition, all biographies in Choice Selections will also be 50% off. We have one biography of Mata Hari�"EYE OF DAWN: THE RISE AND FALL OF MATA HARI by Erika Ostrovsky. And we have many more biographies of great women�"here are just a few: Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots; Mother Theresa; Catherine the Great; Isak Dinesen; Dian Fossey; Margaret Mead; Cleopatra; Marie Curie; Clare Booth Luce; Maya Angelou; Eva Peron; Eleanor Roosevelt; Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; Queen Victoria; and Ann Frank. We have many, many new books on tape and CD. Our selection is awesome with classics, non-fiction, adventure, romance, Westerns, mystery and more. Listen to this! On tape, we have THE LAST BEST HOPE by Ed McBain; DISCLOSURE by Michael Crichton; FLESH AND BLOOD by Jonathan Kellerman; LUCKY by Alice Sebold of THE LOVELY BONES fame; CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE by Lawrence Schiller; WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte; SILENT HONOR, SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ and IRRESISTIBLE FORCES by Danielle Steel; BEYOND SUSPICION by James Grippando; ROCKET BOYS by Homer Hickam; THE BOLD WEST (two tapes) with stories by Max Brand, Ray Hogan, Dan Cushman, Peter Dawson and Fred Grove; BE COOL by Elmore Leonard; and THE WHITE HOUSE CONNECTION by Jack Higgins. On CD, we have DEEP BLACK and CUBA by Stephen Coonts; FIASCO: THE AMERICAN MILITARY ADVENTURE IN IRAQ by Thomas E. Ricks; GHOST HUNTER by Jayne Ann Krentz; A DRAGONLOVER’S TREASURY OF THE FANTASTIC, edited by Margaret Weis; CHILL OF FEAR by Kay Hooper; SUDDENLY by Barbara Delinsky; GATEWAYS TO NOW by Eckhart Tolle; THE KILLING GROUND by Jack Higgins; GOLDEN BUDDHA by Clive Cussler; SHADOW COMMAND by Dale Brown; THE SABOTEURS by W. E. B. Griffin; and J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic THE HOBBIT in small wooden box. We even have some 50 cents books on CD, including THE HOBBIT again and 1776 by David McCullough. These have been withdrawn from the library. There’s no refund on these. As many of you know, we get a lot of our donations from the book drop outside the Annex Building. We recently received a number of nice International Collection classics�"hardbound books with attractive stamping and a ribbon marker. These are scattered throughout the store, some in the poetry section, some in the theater section and some in classics and 100 Best Books of All Time. In regular classics, these include MOLL FLANDERS by Daniel Defoe; SHOW BOAT and CIMARRON by Edna Ferber; TALES by O. Henry; THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SAKI (H. H. Munro); QUO VADIS by Henryk Sienkiewicz; THE RED AND THE BLACK by Stendhal; OF HUMAN BONDAGE by Somerset Maugham; and DUBLINERS and PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce. Also new in classics we have copies of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by A. Conan Doyle; THE REIVERS by William Faulkner; a beautiful edition of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD retold by Paul Creswick with illustrations by N. C. Wyeth; and last but not least D. H. Lawrence’s notorious LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER. In Newsweek’s 100 Best Books of All Time section, we have International Collection editions of the following: Tolstoy’s ANNA KARENINA; Walt Whitman’s LEAVES OF GRASS; Dante’s THE DIVINE COMEDY; both Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN and Bram Stoker’s DRACULA in one scary volume; and MADAME BOVARY by Gustave Flaubert. We also have copies of IN COLD BLOOD, THE LORD OF THE RINGS (it’s a good day for Tolkien) and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST new this sale in this section. We have some wonderful new items in our Non-Fiction Choice Selections. David Dick, the revered Kentucky journalist, died on July 16. According to Keith Runyon, book editor for the Courier-Journal, Dick was one of Kentucky’s great treasures who excelled in broadcasting, journalism education and as an author. We have as a very special feature tomorrow, a mint condition copy of his OUTHOUSE BLUES, a memoir that features all the dogs Dick once owned. It is signed by the author and by his wife, Lalie. Michael Pollan is most famous for his criticism of the food industry and modern eating habits in his book THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA. His first big seller, however, was THE BOTANY OF DESIRE, which examines man’s relationship over time to four plants: the potato, the tulip, the apple and marijuana. We have a very nice paperback copy of this earlier work for you. By now just about everyone has heard of Greg Mortenson’s THREE CUPS OF TEA, his story of building schools in the wild mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan. I overheard a woman at the farmers market say she just had to read this book and I invited her to come to our book sale as we had a copy for sale. We have a number of movie and theater and TV related books: THE ESSENTIAL BOND; INDIANA JONES: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE; THE STAR TREK ENCYCLOPEDIA; THE VIDEOHOUND’S INDEPENDENT FILM GUIDE by Monica Sullivan; THE SEINFELD SCRIPTS; GONE WITH THE WIND: A HISTORY OF THE BOOK, THE MOVIE AND THE LEGEND by Herb Bridges; THE STAR WARS ALBUM; and BROADWAY MUSICALS: 101 GREATEST SHOWS OF ALL TIME. We have new cookbooks in that will suit every taste and fancy. IN NONNA’S KITCHEN by Carol Field will take you to Italy. MAGNOLIAS by Donald Barickman will introduce you to authentic Southern cuisine. We also have ASIAN NOODLES by Nina Simonds, THE HERBAL PALATE COOKBOOK by local gardener-chef Maggie Oster, and SAVOR THE SOUTHWEST by Barbara Fenzl. Finally everyone loves the Food Channel’s Sandra Lee. We have her SEMI-HOMEMADE SLOW COOKER RECIPES for you. Other Non-Fiction Choice Selections include CONCISE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN by Bruce Grant; FOR MY FRIENDS: AMERICAN INDIAN QUILT PATTERNS by Gary Kimmel; INDIANS AND A CHANGING FRONTIER: THE ART OF GEORGE WINTER; THE BASEBALL CHRONICLE: YEAR BY YEAR HISTORY OF BASEBALL 1901-2001; HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION by Thomas Cahill; REAL LIFE: LOUISVILLE IN THE TWENTIES by Michael Lesy; OMAHA BEACH AND BEYOND by John Robert Slaughter; THE SIGNED ENGLISH STARTER by Harry Bornstein and Karen L. Saulnier; THE UNIVERSE IN A NUTSHELL by Stephen Hawking; David Grann’s story of a lost expedition in the Amazon, THE LOST CITY OF Z; LOVE LETTERS, which features facsimiles of real letters from lovers’ correspondence throughout history, including John Keats, Dylan Thomas, Robert Browning, Nathaniel Hawthorne and more; DESTINATION INDIANA: TRAVELS THROUGH HOOSIER HISTORY by Ray Boomhower; MYTHICAL BEASTS by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren, which features gorgeous color plates with stories of unicorns, dragons, the Medusa and more; and 35 GARDEN BLUEPRINTS again by Southern Indiana’s own Maggie Oster. In Choice Selections Fiction, we have Jeff Shaara’s novel of World War II, THE RISING TIDE; Ian McEwan’s ATONEMENT; THE PACK by Jodi Picoult; THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Sue Monk Kidd; THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston; a Gothic page turner from Sarah Waters, THE LITTLE STRANGER; EVENING by Susan Minot; a mint condition hardback copy with dust jacket of Ken Follett’s classic THE PILLARS OF EARTH now airing on Starz; Pulitzer-Prize-winning GILEAD by Marilynne Robinson; SCARPETTA by Patricia Cornwell; THE WEDDING by Nicholas Sparks; RESURRECTION, the finale to the WICKED series, by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie; CLUB DEAD by Charlaine Harris; and MISTRESS OF THE REVOLUTION, a rousing historical novel set during the French Revolution, by Catherine Delors. On the Western and Indians cart, we have many paperback Westerns with popular authors like Max Brand, Zane Grey, Ray Hogan and Luke Short. We also have a number of Tony Hillerman mysteries and a copy of James Alexander Thom’s FOLLOW THE RIVER. Finally, we have devoted an entire shelf on a separate cart to children’s books on American Indians. These books are much in demand and we have a patron who likes to come in at nine o’clock and snatch them all up. Try to beat him to it. New in fiction, we have International Collection editions of James Jones’s FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and of Irving Stone’s LUST FOR LIFE. Other great new books at our low bargain prices are PLAINSONG by Kent Haruf; KING, QUEEN, KNAVE by Vladimir Nabokov; SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson; THE VIRGIN SUICIDES by Jeffrey Eugenides; THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR by Jean Auel in a nice hardback copy with dust jacket; THE SUNNE IN SPLENDOR, a great book about Richard III by Sharon Kay Penman which I read a number of years ago; I SEE YOU EVERYWHERE by Julia Glass; FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFÉ by Fannie Flagg; and SHOPAHOLIC & BABY by Sophie Kinsella. We now have the first seven books in Jan Karon’s popular Mitford Chronicles in Christian fiction as well Christian Book Award Winner WHEN CRICKETS CRY by Charles Martin. We have two in the Sister Chicks series by Robin Jones Gunn; BAMBOO AND LACE by Lori Wick; CAPE LIGHT by Thomas Kinkade; COLDWATER REVIVAL by Nancy Jo Jenkins; FREEFALL by Kristen Heitzmann; BREAKING FREE by Lauraine Snelling; and a lovely collection of inspirational poems and prayers by B. J. Hoff called FACES IN THE CROWD. Nora Roberts fans�"and you are legion�"we have moved Nora up to our Choice Selections cart in a spot all her own. She now sells for our regular prices of $1 hardback, 50 cents paperback. In addition to two by J. D. Robb, we have 19 paperbacks and 13 hardbacks for you tomorrow. We had to perform emergency surgery on the Mystery section today. We hurriedly pulled off older, less attractive books to store away so that we could make room for all kinds of nice new ones. We have James Patterson as well as the late Robert Parker; Anne Perry; Ellis Peters of Brother Cadfael fame and Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series; David Baldacci; Patricia Cornwell; Mary Higgins Clark; A CSI series by Max Allan Collins; P. D. James; FIVE COMPLETE MISS MARPLE MYSTERIES in one volume by the great Agatha Christie; four hardbacks by Janet Evanovich and her very first one, ONE FOR THE MONEY, in paperback; and so much more! Speaking of Agatha Christie, we also have seven of her books in a deluxe black leather binding (The Agatha Christie Mystery Collection Series from Bantam). We have such great classics as AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, EVIL UNDER THE SUN and more. These will be priced at $2 individually but you can buy the entire seven for $10 and save $4! New in history, we have GABRIEL’S RELIGION: THE VIRGINIA SLAVE CONSPIRACIES OF 1800 AND 1802; THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS IN WORLD WAR II by S. E. Smith; LITTLE HEATHENS: HARD TIMES AND HIGH SPIRITS ON AN IOWA FARM DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION by Mildred Armstrong Kalish; THE AGE OF REASON BEGINS by Will and Ariel Durant; and THE POLITICS OF UPHEAVAL, Volume 3 in Arthur Schlesinger’s THE AGE OF ROOSEVELT. The library has gifted us with a number of great old videos. They should work fine, but we will refund your money if they don’t. Here are a few of the best: ROBIN AND MARIAN with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn; FORCES OF NATURE with Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck; DUNE, directed by David Lynch; GULLIVER’S TRAVELS with Ted Danson; THE FIFTH ELEMENT with Bruce Willis; OLIVER!, the musical version of Oliver Twist; the unforgettable WUTHERING HEIGHTS with Lawrence Olivier; A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM with Zero Mostel and Phil Silvers; MONSTER’S BALL with Halle Berry and Heath Ledger; A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS; DRACULA in Spanish with English subtitles; IN HARM’S WAY with Kirk Douglas and John Wayne; and my husband’s favorite, IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD with every great comic under the sun. In addition to all of these, the library has sent over some great Clint Eastwood Westerns: HANG ‘EM HIGH, HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, PALE RIDER and THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES. Then we have received a huge box of like-new videos. Since we have no room left anywhere else, I have put them on a separate cart from our storage area. Listen to all the titles we have�"and there are more! ALIEN, ALIEN 2 and ALIENS; BRAVEHEART; MRS. DOUBTFIRE with Robin Williams; ELIZABETH with Cate Blanchett; Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in THE LONG, LONG TRAILER; Peter Jackson’s HEAVENLY CREATURES with Kate Winslett; Harrison Ford in FRANTIC; the beloved E. T.; Robert Redford in JEREMIAH JOHNSON; Julia Roberts in ERIN BROKOVICH; Tom Hanks in FORREST GUMP; G. I. JANE with Demi Moore; the comedy classic MAN’S FAVORITE SPORT with Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss; John Grisham’s A TIME TO KILL; STEEL MAGNOLIAS; STAR WARS I: THE PHANTOM MENACE and STAR WARS II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES; Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw in THE GETAWAY; two George Clooney movies: ONE FINE DAY with Michelle Pfeiffer and THE PEACEMAKER with Nicole Kidman; Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and YOU’VE GOT MAIL; James Stewart and Maureen O’Hara in a comedy-Western THE RARE BREED; MAVERICK with James Garner, Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster; THE FIRST WIVES CLUB; a five video set of THE KINGS OF COMEDY including Red Skelton, George Burns, Lucille Ball, Abbot & Costello and Grouch and the Marx Brothers; and finally lots of Arnold Schwarzenegger: RED HEAT, COMMANDO, PREDATOR and PREDATOR 2. In addition to all these great new movies, we also have videos of the Great Courses on Physics, Astronomy, Calculus and even the Joy of Thinking! New children’s videos include Shirley Temple in LITTLE MISS MARKER; JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH; THAT DARN CAT; 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA; and Fred MacMurray in THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR. We also have many, many wonderful books for the kids. To begin: PERCY JACKSON ALERT!!! We have Book I: THE LIGHTNING THIEF in paperback and Book 5: THE LAST OLYMPIAN in hardback. I do not expect these two books to last long but I will insist that they go to a child who really wants to read them. RAMONA AND BEEZUS is currently playing to popular acclaim at your local cinema. It is, of course, based on the beloved series by Beverly Cleary. We have two worn copies from the series selling for only 15 cents each: RAMONA AND HER MOTHER and RAMONA QUIMBY, AGE 8. For the younger set, we have many cute puppet and pop-up books. JUNGLE BEAT and BARNYARD BOOGIE by Jim and Janet Post feature huge puppets; WINNIE THE POOH AND THE BIG FAT BEE has a smaller one. JUNGLE by Bob Venables is a colorful book of simple puzzles. In pop-ups, we have DISNEY’S POP-UP BOOK OF THE FOUR SEASONS; TIGGERS DON’T CLIMB TREES and EEYORE LOSES A TAIL; THE FROG AND TOAD POP-UP BOOK by Arnold Lobel; JACK AND THE BEANSTALK POP-UP STORYBOOK; HAVING FUN: A POP-UP SURPRISE BOOK; and PETER RABBIT IN MR. McGREGOR’S GARDEN. THE MAILBOX MICE MYSTERY by Juli Mahr is a delightful book with letters to pull out on every page. THE BIG BOOK OF SEARCH AND FIND by Tony Tallarico is reminiscent of the popular WHERE’S WALDO books. We also have many, many nice new board books in for the toddler in your life as well as many new books on the Ready-to-Read shelf. We have mint condition copies of the beloved classic MADELINE by Ludwig Bemelmans as well as SHREK’S FIRST LOOK AND FIND. We received a big box of Little Golden Books. Remember them�"Walt Disney stories, THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY and more. Some are in better shape than others and we have put some really worn-out ones in our give-away crates. Alice Hoffman has written a mysterious, magical story for ages 8-12 called INDIGO. It looks interesting. In classics for children, we have a beautifully illustrated copy of Rudyard Kipling’s THE JUNGLE BOOK as well as GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES and PINOCCHIO in the International Collections format. My favorite here is a lovely mint condition hardback copy of THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett. How I love this book. This one has charming illustrations by Graham Rust. We also have THE BOOK OF VIRTUES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE by William Bennett. In fantasy for children and young adults, we have Harry Potter Volumes 5 and 6 in mint condition hardback editions with dust jackets. We also have THE LAST APPRENTICE: REVENGE OF THE WITCH by Joseph Delaney, STONEHEART TRILOGY BOOK 1 by Charlie Fletcher; ARTEMIS FOWL: THE OPAL DECEPTION by Eoin Colfer; ERAGON by Christopher Paolini; and CHARLEY BONE AND THE CASTLE OF MIRRORS by Jenny Nimmo. THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins is definitely for teen-agers. Set in the future, the story tells of a post-apocalyptic world where children are chosen as gladiators and forced to fight to the death in televised games. This is the first in a series. In Young Adult Fiction, we have three in the Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz: SKELETON KEY, POINT BLANK and SCORPIA. We have more Goosebumps, American Girls and Junie B. Jones. We have nice copies of HORTON HEARS A WHO and YERTLE THE TURTLE by Dr. Seuss. We have DOUGLAS DIXON’S DINOSAURS and RIVER TOWN by Bonnie and Arthur Geisert. If your child is into cooking, how about THE TEDDY BEAR’S PICNIC COOKBOOK, THE THREE LITTLE PIGS FIRST COOKBOOK or GREAT RECIPES FROM 36 STRANGE LITTLE ANIMALS WAITING TO EAT. This last three weeks, I have been busy going through ALL the remaining children’s books in the boxes at the library and taking out anything that seemed special. The rest has gone to charity. At each book sale, we’ll be bringing out more wonderful books from this treasure trove�"as we get more room. One that really struck me was OIL SPILL by Melvin Berger. Remember the Exxon Valdez? That was long ago in 1989, before today’s children were born. But the message applies to today’s tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon spill. It has been so hot! Even if tomorrow is slightly cooler than the middle of this past week, you’ll still enjoy the cool air-conditioned atmosphere at the book sale. And with an extra week to accumulate so many wonderful bargains, this sale is going to rock! See you tomorrow, Kathy

New Officers and Board Members for 2010

Friends Announce Helping Hand and Gold Leaf Award Winners for 2010

Book Donation Box Now Ready at the Annex Building