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Library sends police to reclaim book

By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published February 8, 2007

CLEARWATER

On the worst day of her life, the day her husband Joe lost his nine-month battle with lung cancer, Betsy Feran's phone rang. It was the director of the Clearwater public library system. Feran had a glossy art book from the library listed for sale on Amazon.com, and the library wanted it back. Immediately. "She said I had a stolen library book," Feran said.

No, said Feran, a full-time social worker and part-time bookseller. She said she bought the book for $5 at a local thrift shop. She would bring it in, she said, just not that day, Jan. 3. She wouldn't leave her husband's deathbed.

"He was declining rapidly," she said. "I wasn't sure when the end was going to come, but he had quit talking and I knew it was soon."

If Feran didn't return the book, library director Barbara Pickell said she would send the police. A day or two later, an officer knocked on her door.

"They sent the police to my home to pick up that book on the day I was planning my husband's funeral," said Feran, who turned over the book.

Pickell said she is sorry things worked out the way they did and the library was not trying to add to Feran's sorrow.

"We don't hold this lady responsible," Pickell added. "She didn't do anything wrong that we are aware of, but knowing the item was up for sale, we had to forestall a potential sale."

Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor said this matter was not a police investigation.

"Our involvement is that another city department asked us to collect city property," he said. He said he had no information on how often police have handled similar tasks.

But this is not the first time that Clearwater officials have taken a hard line on people who don't return library materials.

In the late 1990s, the city made national headlines after three Clearwater residents were arrested on charges of not returning long-overdue library materials. The city said it took the step because it was spending $180,000 a year to replace materials it already owned.

In 2000, the city decided to stop using the courts to recover library materials because it wasn't worth the time or effort.

* * *

This time, the circumstances were different.

The book in question - The Art of Life Blending: How to Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing - was not just any book. It was a first-edition, signed coffee table book by well-known local artists B.J. and Hal Stowers of Crystal Beach.

The Stowers were surprised recently when they googled their trademarked term, "life blending," and saw their 276-page book for sale at Amazon.com.

The asking price was $231.17, more than twice what they sell the book for on their Web site, www.lifeblending.com.

What's more, the seller, screen name "palmtreesales," noted that the book had a Clearwater public library stamp.

The Stowers' friend, Wayne Sibole, had bought two copies and given one to the library as a gift in 2004.

"It was very upsetting," said B.J., 62. "Our dream was to have a copy in every library."

So they contacted Sibole, who searched the Web and found Feran on Clearwater Beach. He sent her name to the Clearwater library.

In response, Pickell said she contacted Amazon.com "to report that they had a stolen item and make sure it was removed from sale."

This is the first time in her library career that a library book was found for sale on the Internet, she said. It also was the first time she asked police to retrieve a book.

"It was signed by the author and donated by a local resident and had more than average value," Pickell said, explaining her decision.

* * *

It was a first for Feran too.

In four years of selling books, nothing like this has happened, she said. In the future, though, she plans to look more closely and make sure library books have a "discard" stamp.

Amazon.com spokeswoman Patty Smith said it's not unusual for sellers to list library books for sale on the Web site.

"Libraries often thin out their inventory," she said. "It's not uncommon for them to hold fundraisers to get rid of excess books."

As for the pricing of the book, Feran said she was going by what other sellers were asking.

"The book was a first edition, first printing, and autographed," she said. "I thought it might be valuable."

After several months of listing it, however, she had no takers.

Shelor said it is unclear who checked out the book in June 2006 or how it ended up in the thrift shop. The borrower can't be found, and Pickell said she couldn't release that person's name.

As for the book, Pickell said the library is thrilled to have it back. It will soon re-appear in the reference section, she said.

"Where no one can check it out."

Times correspondent Terri Bryce Reeves can be reached at treeves@tampabay.rr.com.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 01:09:23]