Bookstore at Poland library is giving books short shrift

Bookstore at Poland library is giving books short shrift
EDITOR:
This letter is written regarding the present use of the bookstore at the Poland Library for commercial sale of items, other than books. The excellent group of volunteers is working very hard, making sure that educational books are recycled back into welcomed public hands, whether it be to an adult, teenager or to a child just learning to read.
When the Poland Library opened its doors to the public, the bookstore's overall area was used for the display and sale of books only. The classic and sometimes antique books were properly displayed in the large glass display case; what a joy it was. All books in the store were on shelves and not in milk crates on the floor.
I'm surprised and concerned that the public library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Board of Trustees (all excellent individuals) would allow commercialization of non-educational material within the scarce space of the great little bookstore and within a public library under their control!
Many books and magazines, especially children's books, are stored in plastic milk crates on the floor, making it difficult to select or evaluate the books for purchase. I have seen individuals actually sitting on the floor looking at the books, while the present shelving is being used as follows:
1. An entire bookshelf contains Beanie Babies (dolls).
2. At times, an entire reading table is covered with stuffed animals.
3. The only large glass display case, previously used for display and sale of antique or classic books, is now being used for the sale of jewelry, crafted only by two individuals! Please restore this fine case back to the display of great books.
4. As the public walks into the bookstore, they are confronted on the right with an entire shelf of stuffed animals, not books! What a waste of space.
5. As of this writing, there is also a table devoted to HAND SOAP.
6. Most of the time, individuals purchasing the fine books and the volunteers selling them, are immediately confronted with primarily junk novelties on the checkout counter.
I respectfully request the board of trustees to restore the Little Book Store in the Poland Public Library back to its full use of displaying, properly, all the excellent books that are just waiting to be adopted by the public and our young generations to come!
RALPH J. MENTZER
Poland
Finding alternatives to landfills is important
EDITOR:
Best wishes for continued success to the YSU re:CREATE program and its coordinator Dan Kuzma (Vindicator, Feb. 27). The ongoing benefits are obvious for the campus and beyond, an increase in awareness of alternatives to landfills being foremost. Transforming a waste stream into a reuse stream is one critical step toward a cleaner environment and it is encouraging to note Kuzma's ambitious goal to increase annually the amount of diverted material.
Such a serious effort represents a change in the way we think and the future depends on each of us doing just that. I suppose we've all heard so many Earth Day pleas about saving the planet for future generations that they've become easy to tune out but look around, folks: "Trash Mountain" off Salt Springs Road threatens to become the highest point in the Valley if not so already. Is that the legacy you want to leave?
Hopefully re:CREATE will challenge other area institutions -- and all of us -- to become more thoughtful and creative with our "disposable assets." As Ben Cohen says, "Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something."
JOHN POLANSKI
Mineral Ridge