METROPOLIS, Ill. — Just months after a local pastor declared the building a future “Sodom and Gomorrah,” parishioners gathered in a small line Friday for the Metropolis Public Library’s book yard sale. Inside were stacks of paperbacks, boxes of DVDs, a child’s trampoline and a $20 laptop with a sign saying it would work as long as it was plugged in.
The selection for sale included a wide range of books, from a Spanish-language edition of Sandra Cisneros’ From “The House on Mango Street” to bestsellers by James Patterson to two stacks of Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” series, which focuses on the Christian end times.
Baxter had expressed concern about children’s books featuring LGBTQ characters.
The library’s total holdings have shrunk by about a third in recent years, with around 15,000 books lost. At the time, Baxter said she had only removed material that had not been checked out for more than five years.
Interim Director Colby Kennedy said Friday’s sale was due to the library’s need for storage space. According to Kennedy, one-third to one-half of the books sold in recent years have been donated to MPL by other libraries.
“Diversity is just everywhere,” Kennedy said.
He said that too many books had previously been “sorted out” too quickly and that library staff were searching a storage room to put some books back on the shelves after an individual assessment “on a book-by-book basis.”
Shelly Thompson, a Metropolis native and regular at the book sale, said she hopes the city can regain a sense of unity. She felt the sale had plenty of selection – and that the city is on the mend after the recent controversy.
“Metropolis is a small, close-knit community,” Thompson said. “I think everyone is just striving for some peace and harmony and to bring our community back together the way it should be.”
As interim director, Kennedy hopes to return the library sale to a special event once or twice a year, rather than having it held permanently upstairs.
The current book sale runs on Friday until 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
