While I have been in Halifax I have visited two libraries, the Central Library and the Bedford Public Library, the latter of which is a 25-minute walk from where I am staying. Each library had an ongoing book giveaway, as opposed to a book sale, as discarded books were put on carts accompanied by a sign that said the books were all free, and patrons were encouraged to walk away with something. When I was at the tiny Bedford Library today, an employee who saw me browsing a cart told me that I had to leave “with at least five” of them. Discarded books that are free might not raise any money for the library system but it probably results in fewer items being sent for recycling or landfill.
I picked up two free books during my trip. The first one was from the Central Library:
A book about islands, but of course. A Pattern of Islands by Arthur Grimble was originally published in 1952 and is the author’s memoir when he was the colonial administrator of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Kiribati and Tuvalu, respectively) in the early 1900’s.
And this one from the Bedford Public Library:
Mary Pickford: Canada’s Silent Siren, America’s Sweetheart by Peggy Dymond Leavey was published in 2011. Over forty years ago I read Sweetheart: The Story of Mary Pickford by Robert Windeler and I would love to read about her life again.