One good Friend

Suzie Harrison

The most valuable characteristic of volunteer Judie Lomax at the

Friends of the Library bookstore is her willingness to give her time

and her passion for books.

“I’ve volunteered here for 8 years,” Lomax said, adding that it

was the Orange County bankruptcy that encouraged her to give her

time.

“The library budget comes from the county and it was cut,” she

said.

All the funds from the bookstore go to support the library with

whatever is needed, including computers, copiers and books.

“Volunteering is actually something you can do and see the

results,” Lomax said. .

The volunteers seem to like it at the bookstore -- some of them

have been volunteering for more than 15 years. There are some regular

customers some that come in every day or quite frequently.

“Almost 100% of the books are donated by the people in town,”

Lomax said. “I don’t think we give them enough credit. It’s really

been nice because the library’s budget has been tremendously cut.”

Part of Lomax’s job is to mark the books with the right price and

put them on the shelves.

“The hard part is keeping up with all the books coming in,” Lomax

said. “We clean each book, it takes time. We try to mark it for the

fair price but something people can afford.”

Among the most popular of the books cared for are mysteries and

children’s books with religion becoming more popular.

“Romance novels, travel, gardening computer books have a draw,”

Lomax said. “We have a great sports section and cook books are

popular too.”

“It’s amazing how many people come in for specific things,

everyone wants something different,” she said.

The Friends of the Library bookstore is at 363 Glenneyre St. and

can be reached at 497-7115. It is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday

through Saturday and until 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. People interested in

volunteering can call Margaret Riutcel at 497-4637.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321 or [email protected].