LAVERNA PYLAND

Community connection: Groves Public Library volunteer.

Fast fact: You can join her Fridays for coffee.

Quick note: Pyland is a mystery lover.



By Darragh Doiron

The News staff writer

GROVES — With one of those newfangled Keurig machines brewing up a caramel coffee amid stacks of good books, the Groves Library smells a bit like a coffeehouse/bookstore.

Volunteer Laverna Pyland thinks that’s progress, but does find the big TV in the library a bit hinky. After all, the library was created for readers. The Friends of the Groves Public Library volunteer said she’s coming ‘round to the idea, if it will be tuned to history and news programs.

As Book Nook manager, Pylander is prepping for the Friends’ 25 cent book sale in February, said Kaye Jones, another volunteer, who has an assortment of praise for Pylander.

“She keeps the books for her church (First Baptist in Groves), and she is absolutely indispensable at the Groves Library,” Jones said. “She is the treasurer of the Friends, she manages the Book Nook, our small sale room, she co-hosts the Friday Coffee, and she is always willing to help in other areas.”

At high school in the Texas Panhandle, Pylander began her relationship with books.

“I worked in our library so I wouldn’t have to take PE,” she said.

Her town of Quanah didn’t have a city library, she said. All these years later, she said she’s loving being back in the stacks.

“I like to see people. We just talk a lot,” she said about joining up with Friends, and how it has allowed her to meet people with similar interests.

“This has given me friends,” she said.

A mystery lover, Pyland counts David Baldacci, A.J. Jance and John Grisham among her favorite authors, and all are available at the library.

The February sale will include 25 cent reads.

“You can’t beat that,” Pyland said.

Groves Public Library will hold a Mini Book Sale for frugal book lovers through Feb. 13 in the foyer of the library, 5600 West Washington Blvd. Offered for 25 cents each, the hard-back books have been de-selected from the library’s holdings to make room for new purchases.

Among the offerings are recent novels originally put in as “second copies” of popular works. Jones said shoppers will find books by James Patterson and Karin Slaughter mixed in with works by Catherine Cookson, Jackie Collins, P.D. James, Susan Howach, Janet Dailey and Louis Auchinclos, among others. Sci-Fi lovers will find works by Ray Bradbury, Piers Anthony, David Eddings and Alan Dean Foster. A limited number of non-fiction works are also available for the sale price.

Books not sold at the bargain price during the two week mini-sale will be offered for $1 each during the Friends’ annual Shower of Savings book sale in April. The Friends of Groves Public Library is a non-profit organization existing to benefit the Groves library. The group most recently funded a learning center computer for the children’s department.

ddoiron@panews.com