Heffner books time with FOL

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Bette Heffner is a longtime volunteer with the Friends of the Library and is a familiar face at the group’s monthly book sales.

1. What is the best thing about Friends of the Library? Why?

The people in the group. Especially the book sale volunteers. There’s about 18 of us and we are all passionate about books. There’s a lot of varied tastes in authors and subjects.  It’s fun to hear some of the discussions among the group while we are sorting and getting ready for the sale. On sorting day, we are faced with four or five carts loaded with cartons of books to be sorted. Everyone has an area and it is amazing to see everything fall into place.

We have all become good friends and I think that is one of the reasons we are so successful. Also, the quality of the books that are donated is outstanding. Our success depends on the donations and the customers.

We also donate books to different groups. The hospital, Love, Inc., the jail. We offer books to any teacher who needs books for their classroom.

The program committee does a great job in obtaining speakers for our programs. These are free to the public.

2. What is your favorite story about something that’s happened at the book sale?

A couple of years ago, a man was ecstatic! He had found a book he had been trying to find for 15 years. The book was from the 1930s and had been out of print for some time.

The man had been collecting all the books by this author and this book was the only one he was missing.

3. If you could only take five books to a deserted island, what would they be? Why?

I would hope the island would be tropical. The books I would take would be “Gift From the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh; “The Shell Seekers” by Rosamund Pilcher; a book on 1,001 ways to cook seafood and tropical plants; a book on learning to read the stars and phases of the moon; my set of two binders of all the notes and printed material from my years of gardening classes with Lois Wythe. These are priceless!

4. What is your favorite part of the Sandpoint Library? Why?

I have two favorite parts of the Library. One is the lobby and FOL book room where we hold our sales. The second part is the library staff. A library isn’t just a building filled with books. Our communitiy is fortunate to have the well trained and hard working staff and trustees that help make our library such a success.

There is hardly a time of day when the parking lot isn’t full. This is a sure sign that something is working well.

5. If you were to write the great American novel, what would it be about?

I’ve never thought about writing a novel. I’m a receiver, not an initiator. I’ll leave the writing up to others who are qualified.