Elgin library ready for 'stampede' for Harper Lee novel
The Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin is ready for the release of Harper Lee's much-anticipated second novel.
The library purchased 62 copies of "Go Set a Watchman," the sequel to the 1960 book "To Kill a Mockingbird," which will be available Tuesday, said Joan Hull, the library's manager of collection services.
"I know there is going to be a stampede," Hull said. "People wanted more (after "To Kill a Mockingbird") and there wasn't anything more. So there's been all this mystery, all this expectation, all this excitement."
The library will have 35 copies that patrons can reserve, or place holds on, for regular 28-day checkout, while 20 more are copies for participants in the program "A Toast to Harper Lee: Book Release of 'Go Set a Watchman,'" scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hull said.
"People have had holds for months," she said. "I'm dying to read it."
Tuesday's program will include a screening of the 1962 movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" and a drawing for both books. Any copies of the new novel not claimed during the program will be made available for holds, Hull said.
Additionally, the library will have seven "quick picks" copies - five at the main library and two at the Rakow branch - available for first-come, first-serve seven-day checkout, she said.
Gail Borden received the books Monday with strict guidelines from the publisher not to release anything early - not even pictures of the front cover, Hull said.
The library also plans to offer "Go Set a Watchman" in e-book, audio, Spanish and large type formats as they become available, said Denise Raleigh, division chief of public relations and development for the library.