‘Friends’ lending a hand overseas

Jimmy Stroup

The “Books for the Troops” program at the Newport Beach Friends of

the Library bookstore has been active since February, delivering

books to soldiers stationed in or on en route to Iraq.

“That’s just our little outreach to our troops that can’t come

into the Newport Beach library,” said Nancy Acone, manager of the

Friends of the Library bookstore.

It all started when Newport Beach resident Marjorie Reed asked her

neighbor Ilma Cunningham, who she knew worked with the Avocado Street

library volunteer staff, if the Friends had any surplus books she

could take to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside.

“She had come to the bookstore for our quarterly sale, ‘A Bag of

Books for a Buck.’ She filled up probably six bags and asked if we

had any extra books,” Cunningham said.

Reed’s son Lt. Col. John Reed is an Air Force pilot, and between

Cunningham and her daughter-in-law Julie, the two figured paperback

novels would make good additions to care packages available to troops

before they ship out.

One thing led to another. The Newport Beach Friends of the Library

now donates a box or more a week -- at 100 books per box -- to the

cause. The books are sorted mainly by volunteer Chuck Small.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “As far as I can tell, the

troops don’t have much in the way of entertainment over there.”

Mindful of the audience, Small said he packs up stories that he

thinks the mostly-male U.S. forces in Iraq will want to read: action

novels, Westerns, mysteries and thrillers.

“No romance novels,” Acone added.

A charitable organization itself, the Friends of the Library

normally wouldn’t make donations to other causes, Acone said.

However, the group felt certain those who had originally donated the

books wouldn’t mind.

“This is a rare thing,” she said. “But this is a rare reason.”

Cunningham, who prices the art and music books at the Friends of

the Library shop, now has the added responsibility of taking one or

two boxes of books per week to Marjorie Reed, who then takes them to

the air reserve base.

“It gives us all a lot of satisfaction to be able to do this for

all of them over there,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham cited a specific source behind the cause.

“It was something that Eleanor Roosevelt said once. ‘When you

cease to contribute, you begin to die,’ and I agree with her,” she

said.

The Newport Beach Friends of the Library donates more than

$200,000 annually to the Newport Beach City Library. The next

quarterly sale of used books is Aug. 20-21 at 1000 Avocado St.,

Newport Beach.