News

Our annual meeting

Book sale volunteers needed

On Tuesday, the Friends held our annual meeting where we reviewed our business activities for last year and planned for this year. We’d like to share some of our accomplishments from last year with you.

  • The Friends resumed business operations while the library is closed by holding our Board and committee meetings via Zoom.
  • We suspended our online book sales in March, but due to some quick thinking and flexibility, our Amazon store was back open and selling in May. In fact, we sold 540 books and DVDs in 2020, which is not too far from our sales in previous years.
  • We launched Bag ‘O Books sales in the spring and fall, selling more than 160 total bags of books. This provided needed materials to the community and made progress on our mission of raising funds to support library programs.
  • We accepted donations of books from the community from August through November in coordination with library staff and based on Washington County safety guidelines. This kept material coming in for the Friends and supported those of you who might be doing some purging at home.
  • The Friends donated $500 to the library to support the Tween Reader program where local tweens can earn free books for reading aloud to a friend, family member, or family pet. For more information about this great program check out the Tween Readers page on the City’s website.

Big thanks to all who donated books, purchased bags of books, shopped our Amazon store, or joined the Friends.

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AN UPDATE ON 11/13/2020…
THE FALL BAG O’BOOKS SALE HAS COME TO AN END. THANK YOU…
…TO ALL OF THE TUALATIN LIBRARY SUPPORTERS WHO BOUGHT BAGS OF BOOKS AND DVDs. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM.
…AND TO OUR VOLUNTEERS WHO MADE IT HAPPEN.

Our normal bookselling operations are still closed, but the Friends are introducing another way to buy used books and DVDs. You can now order DVDs and books by the bag and pick them up at the library on Wednesdays from 10-11am or Saturdays from 10am-12pm outside the Community Room doors on the plaza.

Each bag holds an assortment of books or DVDs in a particular genre. Selection is random as we are not able to provide specific titles—that’s half the fun! Cost: $5.00 per bag.

The number of titles in each bag varies by genre. Here are the genres that are currently available:

  • Paperback fiction for adults (larger Trade size) 7 books in each bag
  • Paperback fiction ROMANCE, 15 books in each bag
  • Kids picture books (ages 2-5 yrs), 5 books in each bag
  • DVDs for kids (G rating), 7 in each bag
  • DVDs for families (PG & PG-13), 7 in each bag
  • DVDs for adults (PG-13 & R), 7 in each bag

 

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Book recommendation

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Title: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Author: Kim Michelle Richardson
Review by: Friends of Tualatin Library member Eleanore Mickus

A New York Times Bestseller!

“For me, this book will be unforgettable for a long time. It was so engrossing that I am going to read more books by this author.” –Eleanore


The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a historical fiction about an unusual group of librarians in the 1930’s who deliver books and other reading materials by horseback to the hill folk of Kentucky. They were part of the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project implemented by the WPA. The town of Troublesome Creek has Cussy Mary Carter and her mule, Junia, delivering reading materials to people who could not get them any other way.

Our Book Woman, Cussy, known to the locals as Bluet, has a rare genetic disorder unique to the people of her area. The disorder, methemoglobinemia, causes them to have blue colored skin. Because of her blue skin, Cussy experiences much prejudice and discrimination. But, she is so intent on bringing books into the lives of the people, she is willing to put herself in cruel and dangerous situations to deliver them.

We learn of the horrible poverty and hunger that most suffer and as a result another disease I have not heard of in years, pellagra. Cussy’s father, and many of the men around the town of Troublesome Creek, work in the dangerous, dirty coal mines but have no other way to earn a living there. We learn of the union that tried to get better working conditions for these miners and the isolation that families experienced living in the hills.

There were uplifting parts in this story of Cussy’s patrons and their desire to read and share information like recipes and patterns. Cussy would put together a journal with articles from the newspaper and magazines to fill in for the scarcity of donated books. We also learn of a few of the patrons who took steps to advance themselves through study and looking for more work opportunities outside of Troublesome Creek.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is available through WCCLS in book, large print, eBook, audiobook, and book club kit formats. We invite you to place a hold.

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