This Montauk Style Book Fair A Page Turner From Start To Finish

Annual Event Tops Fundraising Efforts

By Andrea Aurichio

Book Fair organizer and writer Barbara Metzger donated a miniature depicting the event that began in 1979 made in painstaking detail by her sister. Photos by Andrea Aurichio

The Montauk Library was established in 1991 in this fishing town formerly served by a Suffolk County Book Mobile that came to Montauk once a week on Thursdays.

Montauk - First you see the ocean, then you see the sign and you know you are in Montauk. The large sign planted by the roadside calls your attention to the Montauk Friends of the Library's Book Fair held each year on the Fourth of July. The event began in 1979 long before Montauk had a Library and has been going strong ever since.

Last year, the event raised the phenomenal sum of $27,000 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the gates closed. That is impressive but it is not surprising for the Friends whose ranks include over 300 volunteers, many of whom are always willing to pitch in and help when it comes to fundraising for the Library. "We made $20,000 a year for the last five years before that," Christine Langerfeld, president of the Friends said.

"It was a success right from the start," Barbara Metzger recalled. Metzger, a Montauk resident, is a novelist and founding member of the Friends. Her days in Montauk predate the establishment of the Library. "We had a book mobile back then," Metzger said recalling her early days in Montauk in the 1960s. The traveling book van provided by the County came out to Montauk once a week on Thursdays.

The Friends, encouraged by their success, stepped things up in 1980 and held a second Book Fair after they acquired the use of a small cottage next door to the Montauk Community Church. The cottage served as their first library. That cottage still stands today and is happily a private residence as its former occupants took up residence in the new library. Within the walls of that small cottage serious fundraising plans and bulletproof organization resulted in a full fledged library facility that was built in 1991 on a hill just across the street. The Montauk Library now boasts an estimated 30,000 books in its collection. Not bad for a community that has a little less than 4,000 residents.

Fair organizer Barbara Metzger and a helping hand.

Since this is Montauk, the Library has an ocean view -- especially in the winter when the trees on the rolling dunes shed their leaves. For now, on a clear day you get more than a sneak peak of the Atlantic especially from the third floor where you get what Metzger describes as a panoramic view. The view includes the bay to the north on the other side of the road.

The library is bookish and beachy at the same time. Readers wear shorts and flip flops but they are quiet and intently calmed by the tranquil setting and the natural light that filters through the airy design of the low maintenance building. The stucco exterior was chosen deliberately to create a structure that would be intrinsic to the area where Tudor inspired stucco buildings are still standing, remnants of a bygone era in Montauk's history.The Lighthouse, constructed in 1796, so famously identified with Montauk, was commissioned by George Washington, the first President of the United States and one of the original signers of The Declaration of Independence.

Metzger and the original band of Friends selected the Fourth of July as their Book Fair day for less patriotic reasons. "It is the busiest day of the year in Montauk," Metzger said. This year, the Fourth falls on a Saturday. The Friends are hoping the rainy weather continues. "It's good for business," Langerfeld said. Too much rain will spoil the event but a little cloudy weather will make the cash registers ring at the Montauk Green.

Two volunteers man a table equipped for the day's weather with hats and sunglasses.

"Normally we like beach days," Metzger said, "but this rainy weather will work for us. Last year it was cloudy too."

The gate opens promptly at 10 a.m. without fail, rain or shine, a well-known fact that has book lovers and yard salers lining up hours before kick-off. The line stretches around the fence that encloses the Fair Grounds.

Metzger is the driving force behind the book sale. "I run the whole thing," she said proudly with a laugh, "along with 120 volunteers who have signed up to man the booths." Come Friday another 50 volunteers will move 875 cartoons of books from the Library's lower level where they have been stored in anticipation of the annual event. Another small army of volunteers will appear on Saturday morning to set up the Fair. Metzger has already accumulated at least another 20 cartons of donated books since she set her cut-off date for donations. "Those will be for next year," Metzger explained.

The library accepts books all year. Second homeowners are major donors since many live in communities that do not hold Book Fairs or accept donations. However, the library does not accept encyclopedias. Sorry Jiminey Cricket no one reads them anymore thanks to Google.

Packed, stacked and ready to go, hundreds of books await the big day.

Books are sold by the pound and are carefully weighed on fish scales, this is Montauk after all, so volunteers do not have to price and tag them. When not in use the scales are stored in the Library's lower level along with boxes of donated books. This year, you can select your summer reading for the bargain price of 99 cents a pound. Metzger notes the price per pound when the Book Fair started in 1979 was 35 cents.

Other titles are priced and marked for sale at anywhere from $2 a book to $50 for special or rare books. A book appraiser volunteers his services to help the Friends establish cover value. This year book lovers will find boxed sets starting at $12. Many are Time-Life series. "Star Wars" fans please note a special box set collection of 55 "Star Wars" paperbacks awaits you. The price is "make an offer" so show up early and wait on line to be the first one in.

There's a major yard sale here too, dubbed the White Elephant where you can find the perfect set of bookends at a bargain price if you are lucky. Pots and pans, lamps and dishes can also help you get a new look for your summer digs at bargain prices. If you want a new look, be sure to check out the jewelry section where hats and handbags can be found along with baubles and bangles.

Book Fair volunteers wear blue shirts so shoppers can spot them at the successful fundraiser.

Five master gardeners from Montauk have given of their time and talent joining in to create a Farmer's Market where homemade jams and jellies are for sale, along with plants from private gardens and local nurseries. Adults will love the Instant Raffel and the Silent Auction. For $5 a ticket you can take a chance a win any one of several prices ranging from dinner for two to a weekend at a Montauk motel during the off season when the beach will belong to you.

The Silent Auction is the best. It features among other things, a huge jar of beach glass carefully collected over the year in anticipation of the fair. People come into the Library and put their chucks of beach glass in a large jar at the front desk and since most everyone is a beachcomber the glass jar fills quickly. No one at the Library knows exactly how or when this tradition started but it is a highlight of the Silent Auction and the most precious take away of the day. A record bid for the beach glass jar hit $300 with proceeds going to the library.