TYLER, Texas (AP) – Just in time for Halloween a creepy book only a librarian could appreciate.
In the case of this particular book, however, no one at the Tyler Public Library seems to be feeling the love.
The 1933 first edition, illustrated copy of Champion Textbook of Embalming by A. O. Spriggs needs a new home, officials said.
It’s up for sale in the library’s third book auction, paired with a 1944 Tales of Edgar Allen Poe, for those who want something a tad unusual for their collection.
The books – as well as a host of others – are up auction until Oct. 31.
“Oh no, no, no, it’s not something we could ever put on the shelves,” Evelyn McLane, programming associate, said. “I think the embalming book came in about a year ago, as a donation.”
Library officials said donated books that can’t find a home on circulation shelves sometimes become undiscovered treasures for others.
In the case of the embalming book, it was immediately clear it needed to go someplace else, far away from unsuspecting library patrons.
“We put the embalming book in the last one (sale), but it didn’t sell,” McLane said. “We paired it with Poe to see if someone would buy it.”
On a 1-to-10 scale of unusual donations, officials peg the book at about a 9.9.
Items recalled as closer to a “10” surfaced in the 1980s: two books with bullet holes.
“Everyone’s a critic, but that was a little extreme,” Librarian Chris Albertson said of the bullet-riddled literature. “We did track them down” to pay for the damages.
The facility once received a collection of astrology books with detailed instructions on fortune-telling, but that topic seems to pale when compared to Spriggs’ embalming book.
The clinical textbook gives instructions on handling cases centered on death by gunshot, poison and freezing, to name a few.
“We have a lot of technical books here,” Albertson said, citing topics such as law, medicine and mechanics. “We’re in the business of trying to put good reading in people’s hands.”
The embalming book doesn’t quite fit into that business model, it seems.
People interested in bidding on the item can see it at the library, 201 S. College Ave.
It’s under lock and key, entitled the “Spooky Lot.”
There are 25 auction lots in all, touching on a variety of interests, including history, classic literature and classic comic characters including Little Lulu and Donald Duck.
Other items include a collection of old Oklahoma newspapers, featuring front pages of historic events in the United States – the end of World War II, the first man on the moon and dropping of the first atomic bomb.
Some newspapers feature sports teams of the 1950s.
A complete “Five-Foot Shelf” collection of Harvard Classics is also up for bid, a name given in references to the size of the grouping.
“You could probably get the equivalent of a Harvard education if you sit down and read them,” Albertson said. “To have a complete set pass through here is kind of unusual.”
There’s also the Official Fonzie Scrapbook, based on Henry Winkler’s character from the 1970s television sitcom, Happy Days, and other stars of by-gone eras.
The library’s “Beautiful Places” lot features a book filled with what appears to be hand-tinted scenes from Yellowstone National Park, suitable for framing.
Books in the lots have been selected based on rarity, nostalgic value and special interest topics.
Special care is taken to advise donors that materials not added to the library’s collection may be auctioned or sold, officials said.
Bid sheets are located next to the display cases and people must have a library card to compete.
Winners will be contacted at the conclusion of the sale, and all proceeds benefit the library’s book fund to help buy new books.
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Information from: Tyler Morning Telegraph, http://www.tylerpaper.com
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AP-WF-10-20-11 1822GMT