A toddler in a red jacket and yellow boots holds the book \u201cWhat Are Feelings?\u201d up so high it is practically above his (or possibly her) head. Another, also in a stroller, clutches a colorful volume on learning to count via \u201ctouchable ladybugs.\u201d Elsewhere in kaleidoscopic crowd images from last year\u2019s Free-For-All Book Fair, children make bookmarks with paper and glue, or are read to, while adults nearby peruse titles by the boxload.<\/p>\n
At the annual Free-For-All Book Fair, the third of which will be held Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Glenwood Springs Community Center from noon to 5pm, attendees range in age from infants in arms to the elderly. People leave with bags full of books. No money changes hands.<\/p>\n
Caitlin Causey, one of the volunteer organizers, said of this pre-holiday happening, \u201cA lot of kids say, \u2018I\u2019m going to give this to my brother\u2019 or \u2018to my mom.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, according to a press release from the Free-For-All-Book Fair (motto: \u201cReading is for everyone\u201d), approximately 1,500 attendees took home 7,000-plus books, most new or nearly new, in English and Spanish. The organization is soliciting book donations through October (see drop-off sites below).<\/p>\n
The story started two years ago in a pediatrician\u2019s office at the Castle Valley Children\u2019s Clinic, when Shelby Williams, a second-grade teacher at Elk Creek Elementary School, brought her then 12-year-old daughter, Becca, for a well-child check with Dr. Rebecca Percy.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecca is an avid reader, as am I, and so is Dr. Becca, and the two Beccas always talk books when we go in.\u201d The conversation, she recalls, \u201ckept spiraling on book fairs. \u2018Weren\u2019t they fun?\u2019 \u2018What books were your favorite?\u2019\u201d Schools host annual book fairs, partially as benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd [we were] talking about how inequitable it is that some kids can go buy 10 books and maybe some don\u2019t get to buy any,\u201d Williams said. \u201dSome have no books at home.\u201d She personally buys books for all her students every year.<\/p>\n
She and Dr. Percy then met at the New Castle library, asking themselves, What could we do to get books to kids in the community who don\u2019t have them?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really wanted a book fair for all, all kids and all people. We started brainstorming, and reached out to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friends \u2014 all of them moms with jobs and busy lives \u2014 came onboard, collecting books and storing them in their garages. The New Castle Recreation Center hosted the premiere, with the Glenwood Springs Community Center stepping in for 2024.<\/p>\n
The first year, Causey estimates, 2,000-plus books came in and all but about 100 books went out; hundreds of people poured in the door. Williams said, \u201cWe were so excited that it even got off the ground. \u2026 We had donations from all types of people. We hope for donations in English and Spanish. We want everybody to get books.\u201d<\/p>\n
Causey said the fair is held to reduce barriers to reading and encourage lifelong reading. Monetary donations are welcome and used to buy books to give away, and the event has received some business sponsorships, including use of a storage unit from Gould Construction.<\/p>\n
Most books are donated by the community, as people clean out their shelves and jettison books they or their children no longer read. The organizers request only books in good condition, not those that are ripped or water-damaged.<\/p>\n
They seek books in Spanish, \u201cprimarily for children but also adults,\u201d Causey said. \u201cWe purchased a couple hundred books in Spanish [for adults], and they were all gone by the end of the day. \u2026 We want everybody in the community reading.\u201d Another need is books for teens.<\/p>\n
The core group of consistent volunteers is four to six, with about a hundred volunteers joining in over time. Those have included employees from Alpine Bank, a sponsor; a young employee at White River Books, a Carbondale pickup site; and high schoolers who last year broke down the event.<\/p>\n
After learning about the free book fair, I visited White River Books with a small armload of books. Izzy Stringham, the owner, stood behind the counter, looking up a sequel for a mustachioed young customer in overalls.<\/p>\n
Some of my books looked new, but I ask if a battered paperback, \u201cThe Right Stuff,\u201d passes muster.<\/p>\n
Stringham laughed and nodded. \u201cI think it\u2019s just if they smell or are fuzzy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She estimates that last year she took in 1,000 to 1,500 donated books. \u201cMy little store room\u201d \u2014 which is also the bathroom \u2014 \u201dwas up to the ceiling. Caitlin would come by and pick books up. I kept filling it up and calling her.\u201d<\/p>\n
While it might seem a conundrum for a bookseller to support a giveaway, Stringham said, \u201cI want people to buy books, so I can stay in business, but I mostly want people to read books. A bookstore in a small town is part of the community. I\u2019m all for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Books can be dropped off through October at White River Books or the Castle Valley Children\u2019s Clinic, Carbondale; Brynne Gordon Dental, Urnise Dentistry and Alpenglow Books, Glenwood Springs; New Castle Dental, New Castle; and Mountain Family Health Center, Rifle. For more information, email FreeForAllBookFair@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A toddler in a red jacket and yellow boots holds the book \u201cWhat Are Feelings?\u201d up so high…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[359,18,117,75618,75619,75620,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-124656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-free-books","12":"tag-free-for-all-book-fair","13":"tag-glenwood-springs-community-center","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}