Cook Memorial to auction surplus furniture, equipment

Instead of simply dumping unwanted furniture and equipment in the trash, Cook Memorial Public Library District officials hope to raise some cash by staging an online auction.

The auction will begin Friday and end Dec. 15. More than 200 items will be up for bid, including computer keyboards and speakers, a slide projector, bookcases and modular office walls.

An organization called Obenauf Auction Service is hosting the sale. To access the auction and see photos of the items, go to obenaufauctionsonline.com and search for auction No. 1243.

Proceeds from the auction will go into the library's operating budget and will be used to buy furniture, audiovisual equipment, bulletin boards or other items not included in the $14 million budget for two recent construction projects, said Gabriella Pantle, Cook Memorial's public relations coordinator.

Among the items on the auction block will be:

•Two color computer printers, still in their boxes.

•Fifteen computer monitors.

•A digital camera.

•Thirty blue vinyl folding chairs, with a storage cart.

•Fifty-seven desk chairs.

•Five book carts.

•Two cassette players.

Most of the auction items are mundane, but a few are unusual. A pair of 7-foot-tall artificial palm trees that are equipped with rope lights will be for sale, as will and a large model sailing ship.

Sixty-five artistic prints will go to the highest bidders, too.

“The art prints will be in very high demand based on many inquiries we have received from interested patrons,” Pantle said.

The auction comes as crews are preparing to reopen Cook Memorial's Libertyville facility, following a lengthy renovation and expansion project.

A new Cook Memorial branch in Vernon Hills opened this summer.