Raycrafts of Saskatoon In A Bind With Their Book Rescue Efforts

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Shaunna Raycraft is now puzzled with here rescued books
in Saskatoon of Saskachewan Province, Canada
Photo courtesy: www.cbc.ca

When an elderly gentleman suddenly died five years ago, leaving his avid collection of 350,000 books weighing over 30 tonnes, his widow saw the only way to get rid of them is by burning. All these books were packed in a three-storey house. The gentleman had collected them for many years from library and school discards, charity book sales and the like.

Hearing the news of the intended burning, Shaunna and her husband Orion Raycraft, both being book lovers, vowed to rescue the books from the malfire, reports the Toronto Star. They offered their savings of $800 to the widow and took over the books.

The trouble started when the Raycrafts wanted to get all the books from the elderly person’s house. They had to pack them in more than 7,000 cardboard boxes. But where to store them? They then took a loan of $10,000 to buy a 1,200 square feet wooden house and kept the boxes from floor to ceiling. In the last few years, the weight of the books is causing the wooden house gradually give way. It may collapse any time.

In the mean time, the Raycrafts tried to sell some of the books but need a big help in sorting them and evaluating the whole collection. The books range from textbooks, biographies, classics, ordinary fictions, how-to-books and a 30-year collection of Canadian monthly Chatelaine magazine.

Some third world countries literally cry for good books. Who will send these there? Religious missionary organizations, both Catholic and Protestant, having educational institutions in those countries, may be of help in sending some of these books there.

To get an idea of the amount of the books rescued, you may visit here.