Former school director donates book collection to Ross Library for upcoming book sale
PHOTO PROVIDED Volunteers and library employees help sort and pack boxes of books.
PHOTO PROVIDED Annie Halenbake Ross Library employees Jim Kownacki, left, and Julie Ross, show off their smiles after loading up the library van with a second round of boxes filled with books from Wayne Koch.
PHOTO PROVIDED Many boxes full of novels collected over the decades by Wayne Koch are pictured before being loaded into the library van ahead of the Ross Library fall book sale.
PHOTO PROVIDED Volunteers and library employees help sort and pack boxes of books.
PHOTO PROVIDED Annie Halenbake Ross Library employees Jim Kownacki, left, and Julie Ross, show off their smiles after loading up the library van with a second round of boxes filled with books from Wayne Koch.
PHOTO PROVIDED Many boxes full of novels collected over the decades by Wayne Koch are pictured before being loaded into the library van ahead of the Ross Library fall book sale.
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LOGANTON -- Long-term school director at Keystone Central, Wayne Koch, has built a personal collection of books filled largely with those about history and politics -- subjects that captured his interest and kept him adding to his collection each year.
Now, after decades of collecting, Koch is giving that collection a new purpose.
Koch recently donated his library of books to the Annie Halenbake Ross Library, where the volumes, collections and other stories will be offered as part of the library's upcoming Fall Book Sale. Rather than allowing the books to simply sit on shelves or be tossed, Koch wanted them to continue making a difference in the community.
Among the collection are books focused on local history, including works connected to Clinton County and Lock Haven. For local readers, those books offer more than an opportunity to learn about the past -- they provide a connection to the people, places and events that helped shape the community they know today.
Books about Clinton County and Lock Haven can be particularly valuable to residents interested in preserving and understanding the area's history. Local histories often document the development of Lock Haven, the communities throughout the county, local schools and institutions, businesses, prominent residents and important events that might otherwise be forgotten. In that way, Koch's collection represents not only his personal interest in history, but also a small piece of the region's collective memory.
His collection reflects decades of interest in history and politics -- topics that have remained important to him throughout his 86 years.
For Koch, donating the books provides an opportunity for something he has enjoyed for much of his life to benefit others, particularly people who may not have easy access to a traditional library.
The proceeds from the sale will help support the Clinton County Libraries' effort to purchase a new mobile library, or bookmobile, that can bring books and library services directly to residents throughout the county, especially to residents in rural areas such as Loganton -- his previous school board region.
Clinton County Libraries is working to raise between $40,000 and $100,000 for a new mobile library. The current library van has more than 150,000 miles and increasing repair needs, prompting the libraries to pursue a larger mobile library project.
The proposed mobile library would do more than transport books. Plans call for it to bring books, technology, literacy programs and other library services into rural communities, as well as visit senior centers, schools, community organizations, parks and other locations.
Koch's donation is therefore part of a larger effort to keep library services accessible throughout Clinton County.
There is also something fitting about the journey these books are about to take. Some of them document the history of the very communities the new bookmobile could serve. Books about Clinton County and Lock Haven that once occupied a place in Koch's personal library may now find their way into the hands of new readers, students, families and local history enthusiasts.
The Ross Library's Fall Book Sale will be held Sept. 17 through 19. A preview night will be held Sept. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. The sale will feature hundreds of books and other items, with prices beginning at 25 cents.