Bibliophiles, assemble! The school library will be giving away non-fiction books from now until the end of October. She has already given away about 300-400 fiction books. There are about 300 non-fiction books available. 

When the library removed all of the books last summer to prepare for the arrival of new bookshelves, Library Manager Maggie Travers went through each title and decided to thin out the collection of books, some of which date back into the 1980s.

In the autobiography section, for example, Travers said there were many outdated books on athletes that many students may not be familiar with. Some of the new non-fiction selections include memoirs and essay anthologies.

Travers said she removed nearly 400 non-fiction books and so far has purchased 50 new titles. Some of these books came from the student suggestion box near the circulation desk, and others came from teacher and library association recommendations. 

Travers said Language Arts/social studies teacher Mark Denninghoff helped her sort through the books and select the ones to offer to students.

This is the second giveaway this year. A few weeks ago, Travers invited students and teachers to take several hundred fiction books. Most of the books had found new homes by the end of last week. The leftovers were donated to the Friends of the Library Hawaii for its book sale. 

Travers said students who are interested in picking up some of the non-fiction books can come to the library and take them from the table near the front entrance.

Junior Kendrick Robertson picked up a book about ancient civilizations.

“They had history books, which is my thing, and I thought it was pretty cool that it was free,” he said.

The school library has about 5,700 non-fiction and 3,100 fiction books in its inventory. 

In addition to the updated collection, the library has also added new, comfortable seating, tables, and new bookshelves. In the far corner is the business department’s new “Mene Merch” vending machine.