ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Thursday, July 7, 2005

By GARY SEMAN JR.
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Clintonville is bracing itself for Harry Potter mania.

Two local institutions are gearing up for the July 16 release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

Cover to Cover, a store specializing in children's books, is getting 200 copies of the book, with another 50 on the way at the end of the week.

Sally Oddi, who owns the book shop at 3560 N. High St., said she won't open at midnight, as is the custom of other book stores, but will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, two hours earlier than usual.

Oddi said customers can reserve copies in advance by calling the store.

She said her enjoyment is not centered on the hoopla of the book -- the sixth in the series by author J.K. Rowlings -- but rather the enjoyment children and adults get from reading it.

"The joy should not come in standing in line at midnight and all the other things," Oddi said.

"It should come when they get the book in their hands and are reading the chapters and enjoying the book, and not wanting to stop after the chapter. That's what I want the kids to be focusing on and the parents around them."

She added that Cover to Cover has 20,000 other titles that "I think kids would love if they read them."

The Columbus Metropolitan Library has purchased 650 copies of the book; the Whetstone Branch is scheduled to receive 20. Greg Denby, Whetstone manager, said 2,150 people already have reserved the new Harry Potter book systemwide. Those customers can keep the book for 28 days.

"What we try to do is meet the demand as much as possible with the understanding we have a lot of other titles we need to buy," Denby said. "We're going to get many, many readings and uses out of each copy of that book."

The Harry Potter releases cause quite a stir at the library and the books attract fans of all ages, Denby said.

"Harry Potter is just a phenomenon," he said. "And we want the people to use the library to get in on the excitement, too."

Becky Fout, office coordinator at Olentangy Village, counts herself as a fan of Harry Potter and is considering buying the book.

"I think that a kid who had nothing and found out he can do so many things is a great thing, because so many kids are held back by thinking they can't," said Fout, 29.