I think there was a lot of that in play. *I* certainly had no clue, and expected a far worse selection of books than I saw. On speculation (and retaining an almost picture-perfect ability to recall whether a book is in the Md. Rail Library collection or not, as the only cataloger), I snatched up about $30 worth of bargains myself by handing them to my associate--Kalmbach's "Contemporary Diesel Spotters Guide," Stagner's "Steam Locomotives of the Frisco Route", J. Parker Lamb's "Steel Wheels Rolling," Trager's "Virginia Railway Depots," and Cooper's "N&W Shenandoah Valley Line". How those were still there by the time I got to the shelves, I don't know. That fellow library volunteer had beaten me to the shelves and snatched up three dozen more books for himself and maybe the Library. That's him in the center of that photo going over his lists, with my haversack and another stack on the floor beside him. We're still bartering over who gets what, but my purchases have already been traded to the Library for surplus I wanted for my own shelves, pretty much one-for-one without looking up retail values. I then snapped up another $20 worth of wrenches and sockets that are probably way better then the ones I have currently. The brand names in question would have been about $5-20 each retail.

I will note that when the curator came out and told folks in line that the lanterns, china, and models were gone, a few--only a very few, like maybe five or six folks--gave up and walked away. I really think there was a lot of "let's see what they have and have fun" at work. Many were members, and it didn't cost them money. (Disclosure: I was let in as media, and stayed away from the stacks for about an hour so as not to be unfair to those who actually waited and paid. My associate beat me to most of what we would have wanted anyway.)

What I was surprised to see: Lots of Railroad Magazine from the 1940s for 25 cents each. What I was surprised NOT to see: stacks of Trains and/or Railfan.

What I was not surprised to see: Way too many of the same old bargain coffee table books from the bargain shelves of Waldenbooks, Books-A-Million, etc. from years past, as well as too many Beebe/Clegg photo books and "The Lore of the Train". What I was surprised to see: People buying them anyway, albeit cheap. (We send them to that free-book giveaway program.)

What I bought even though I didn't really need it: a NOS clear Adlake kerosene lantern globe, still in original wrapping, for $5. What I passed on: the blue Fresnel globe for $20.

The bargain that wasn't: They had selected a few highly coveted local books and put them on a separate table for $50-100 each. They moved slowly, if at all.

And how dedicated or charitable do you have to be to buy the old, still quite readable informational sign that used to hang on or beside an exhibit? (Though, yeah, if it were my favorite loco of all time, and it was a mere $20, heck yeah, I'd buy, but...)

The curators and we are now discussing letting each others' Libraries have cracks at each other's surplus in the future. We gladly would have traded more obscure stuff for surplus that probably would have sold faster and for a better price.