Bob Robison

During the Depression, Bob Robison would roller skate to the library

every chance he got.

“The cheapest and best form of entertainment was the library,” he

said.

For Robison, it still is. The 71-year-old Newport Beach resident

continues his lifelong love affair with books as a volunteer for the

Friends of the Library, the volunteer group that collects and sells

donated books to raise money for the library.

“Its’ a thrill for me to be able to be so productive for an

organization that contributes about $300,000 to the city library,”

said Robison, who been a Friends volunteer for about 12 years.

Every Monday, the strapping, 6-foot-tall Robison hauls boxes of

donated books from the various branch libraries to the book store,

which is inside the main branch library on Avocado Avenue. Robison, a

retired civilian employee of the Los Angeles Fire Department, is also

on-call for book donations. From time to time, he is called on to

drive to homes to pick up large donations of books. Three times a

year, the Friends of the Library hold a sale with special reductions

on books that weren’t sold in its regular store. Robison, who has

been married to Nancy for 49 years, is an important part of the team

during the quarter-annual book sales. He mostly hauls the books and

laughs that he keeps his strong back by never saying the word “back.”

Along with his other hobbies -- swimming, tennis and working the

Roto tiller for the Oasis Garden Club -- volunteering for the library

helps keep him healthy and happy while keeping his love of books

alive.

“At one time, I had about 35 of the Hardy Boys books,” recalled

Robison, who has four grown sons and eight grandchildren.

Today, he consumes about 50 books a year -- a lot of them of the

John Grisham, Tom Clancy and Nora Lofts variety, and many of them by

English authors written decades ago.

“Volunteering at the library is a wonderful, fun thing to do. I

love the books and I love the people.”

-- Story by June Casagrande,

photo by Sean Hiller