Friends of the Library Book Sale returns Oct. 12

A favorite autumn event, the Friends of the Library Book Sale returns Saturday, Oct. 12th, for three long weekends, at 509 Esty St. in Ithaca. The sale is open 10am to 8pm, Saturday to Monday, Oct. 12-14 & 19-21, and Saturday to Tuesday, Oct. 26-29.

In order to serve as many book lovers as possible, on the first Saturday, Oct. 12, each shopper may purchase a maximum of 50 items at a time. After checking out, customers may rejoin the line to come in and shop again.  In keeping with the Friends’ mission to get more books into the hands of readers, prices start low and drop each weekend.

The sale is open Wednesday, Oct. 23, for older adults (age 60+) and anyone with a disability to shop from 10am to 4pm, and students (age 16+ with school ID) are welcome 4-8pm. Monday, Oct. 28 is “Dime Day,” with all items on the main floor priced at just 10 cents each. “Bag Day” is the final day of the sale, Tuesday, Oct. 29, when shoppers can bring their own reusable shopping bags and fill them up for only $1 per bag. 

Each sale offers up to 250,000 books, DVDs, CDs, vinyl record albums, comics and graphic novels, puzzles, games, and more.  An active corps of 100 volunteers sort and organize donated items into 70+ subject categories, which are displayed on over 2 linear miles of shelving. The large Children’s section, which is also organized by subject, has more than 36,000 items available for this sale. The Collectors Corner features rare and antiquarian books, first editions, collectible vinyl records, artwork, ephemera, and vintage toys and games, with many items priced at $10 or less.

Highlights of this Sale

Thanks to generous donations from the community, the fall sale offers a special selection of books and other items in new or like-new condition, for adults and children, that will make great gifts for the holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.

There are more than 8,500 DVDs available, as well as a large Audio Books section with fiction and non-fiction titles. In Adult Fiction, shoppers will find an entire bookcase filled with vintage hardcover mysteries, and the Romance section has lots of paperbacks in like-new condition.

Among the thousands of picture books in the Children’s Corner, this sale features a large assortment of biographies and stories about African-American, Hispanic, and indigenous peoples. The children’s foreign language section has a wide array of books in French.

Where does the money go?

Founded in 1946, the Friends of Tompkins County Public Library operates one of the largest and longest running nonprofit book sales in the nation.  Almost all work is done by volunteers, and after covering operating expenses (building maintenance, utilities, insurance, etc.), the Friends give major grants every year to the Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) and Finger Lakes Library System, as well as smaller awards to local non-profit organizations for literacy and reading projects, and scholarships for library science students. Over 78 years, the Friends have given almost $8 million to TCPL and other libraries in the region.

For more information about the Book Sale or the Friends of the Library, email info@booksale.org, call (607) 272-2223, or visit www.booksale.org online.