The Mark Twain Library Book Fair will once again characterize Labor Day weekend in Redding. But this, the 54th Annual, will be significantly more plentiful than usual thanks to one very generous neighbor.
Steven Gibaldi, a book lover from South Salem, New York, has donated over half of his life-long collection of books to the Mark Twain Library Book Fair. Last Thursday, a team of volunteers convoyed to his home to retrieve them. It was definitely no small task, but reportedly a heart-warming one according to Book Fair organizer Jeanne Wendschuh. "Twelve amazing MTL volunteers journeyed to South Salem to pack 147 boxes of between 3,000 and 3,700 books, all in very fine condition. After loading them into seven cars and two pickup trucks, the team then unloaded them back at the library for another band of volunteers to sort, price and re-box. Although we didn't sing a work song, our movements were rhythmic and mostly synchronized. I am enormously grateful to the tremendous team of hardworking Mark Twain Library lovers and ambassadors."
Mr. Gibaldi's passion for books was sparked early. "I probably began collecting books when I was around 10 years old," he said. "A book mobile used to park at the Pasadena elementary school in Plainview, New York and my parents would give me money to buy one book. I still have my first purchase, Young Baseball Champions with Joe DiMaggio on the cover. The hobby escalated during my teenage years leading eventually to jobs at Walden books and later for Bonmark books, a comprehensive used bookstore owned by Abraham Blinderman, an old time bookman who once had a shop on the famous Fourth Avenue book sellers row in Manhattan. I learned the trade from this man, who loved books but disliked customers. He was the archetype curmudgeon who often lectured customers on proper book handling etiquette but also had a policy of giving away a book to anyone who couldn't afford it or was short on cash."
Gibaldi's collection had grown significantly by the time he headed off to college. "When I moved out to attend law school I actually packed up seven large boxes of books and stuffed them in my Buick Skylark for the six hour drive to Syracuse University College of Law, where I displayed them in my student apartment."
He became a lawyer and worked in the New York City Corporation Counsel's office, before embarking on a profound career shift. The turning point came after he spent a summer teaching natural history in the Black Hills of South Dakota. "I felt like I had a calling for it," he recalled. And teaching fit his desire to be a "generalist." He became a high school teacher in Port Chester, NY where he teaches US History, Law, and Environmental Studies, (a course which he created).
His books have fed his intellectual curiosity throughout his life. "For me, my book collection is part of my identity, reflecting on my interests, passions and curiosities. In a sense, the books I surround myself with act as a kind of profile of the pre-Facebook era. You can learn a lot about anyone by examining their book collection. The most gratifying part of owning such a large collection (between 6,000 and 7,000 titles) is the ability to discover new subjects and often have at my fingertips a selection of related titles. Instead of Googling for information, I could research the way people have for centuries, by consulting actual texts."
"While reflecting on the next stage of my life I decided that donating my collection could bring tremendous benefits to an institution and to individuals who wind up acquiring my books. I selected the Mark Twain Library as the recipient of my collection because of the outstanding annual sale that was the source of some of my greatest book discoveries. One year I bought a copy of Thomas Pynchon's first novel, The Crying of Lot 49, (First Edition) for a buck and was offered $500 for it later on. I still have it on my shelf, a reminder of the potential the Mark Twain Library Book Fair has. I have now donated a number of rare and extremely valuable titles as a way of seeing things come full circle."
Mr. Gibaldi also invited just one book dealer to purchase a small segment of his vast collection. Bryan Leitgeb is the owner of Mast Books in the East Village, a used book store whose interior was designed to evoke the feel of a small art gallery. In Mr. Leitgeb, Gibaldi found a kindred spirit. "For me, it's about loving the books as objects as much as for their content," said Mr. Leitgeb. With e-books proliferating, Mr. Leitgeb realizes books are increasingly prized as artifacts – for their design, vintage, rarity. He intently worked alongside the volunteers from the Mark Twain Library, carefully packing up dozens of boxes of treasures for the shelves of his shop.
In reflecting on parting with his life-long collection of books, Mr. Gibaldi stated, "Books are not like other commodities that have value in the marketplace. They are more than that. They contain wisdom and ideas, values that transcend financial considerations. Parting with my collection of books was a serious decision. But I've come to realize that I no longer need to own such a large collection. I have successfully absorbed the learning and shaped a sensibility that no longer requires the presence of these totems of knowledge. Instead I will live with the knowledge that my books will wind up in the hands of so many others, possibly sending them on their own journeys of discovery and knowledge."
The 54th Annual Mark Twain Library Book Fair begins on Friday, August 29, and runs through Labor Day Monday. For information on donating books or to volunteer, contact the library at (203-938-2545) or visit www.marktwainlibrary.org. The last day for book donations is August 1st.
The Mark Twain Library is owned by the Mark Twain Library Association. It was founded in 1908 by Samuel Clemens – Mark Twain himself – another one of Redding's most celebrated residents.