Book Bargains Abound at Semiannual Friends of Library Used Book Sale

You’ve seen lines of people outside Best Buy on Black Friday and the lines outside Chick-fil-A before every grand opening, but Saturday, you’re likely to see a line wrapping around the building at the Fairlawn-Bath Branch Library.

Branch library Manager Betsy Dumigan said, weather permitting, people will begin lining up by 7 a.m. to get first crack at the more than 13,000 items at the Friends of Fairlawn-Bath Branch Library used book sale.

The doors open at 8:30 a.m. Saturday for the Friends of the Library member presale. The general public is admitted beginning at 10 a.m. If you really want in on the presale, however, you can line up and purchase a $5 membership at the door, Dumigan said.

In addition to books, the sale will feature books on CD, DVDs, the occasional VHS tape, magazines and music CDs – 90 percent of which was donated for the sale.

The book sales are “generally well attended,” and many people attend each and every sale, Dumigan said. Some are book dealers and others are just “book junkies,” she added.

Items for sale are sorted into about 30 categories, including adult fiction, teen fiction, nonfiction, toddler books, DVDs, music CDs and magazines. Most items sell for between 25 cents and $2, although some large coffee table-style books that may have been purchased for as much as $80 will sell for around $10, Dumigan said.

Dumigan said her branch is fortunate to receive many donations throughout the year. Items that fit into the library’s collection are put into circulation and the remainder is saved for the semiannual used book sales, Dumigan said. “We have two part-time staff members whose sole job is to handle the donations that come in,” she said.

The sale is organized and run by Friends of the Fairlawn-Bath Branch Library, a grassroots organization that has been raising funds for the library for the past 13 years, according to the library website. The four-member council, Ann Duke, Karen Patella, Edna Williams and Jan Porter, comes into the library regularly throughout the year to price book sale items, Dumigan said.

The group spends about $10,000 annually on the branch library, Dumigan said. A third of that goes for materials put into circulation, a third for craft and program supplies and toys for the children’s area and a third goes for speakers and entertainment programming, she said. “Like all libraries, we’ve seen a decrease in state funding. Active friends groups are one of the ways libraries are able to give really good service. They can be a big support in a time when you aren’t getting a lot (from the state),” Dumigan said.

The Fairlawn-Bath Branch Library is at 3101 Smith Rd., across from Summit Mall. The book sale will be set up in the library’s meeting room and early access is through a side door that opens directly onto the parking lot, Dumigan said. The Friends of the Library member presale is 8:30-10 a.m. The general public may shop the book sale 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.