Friends of the Library book sale returns June 18-21 to convention center
By Glenn Dromgoole
One of the most popular book events in Abilene – the Friends of the Library Book Sale – gets under way on Thursday, June 18, and runs through Sunday, June 21, at the Abilene Convention Center.
The Thursday night preview sale, from 5-8 p.m., is for FOL members only, but family and individual memberships are available at the door.
The public sale is free and begins at 10 a.m. Friday with buyers usually lining up to get first dibs on the more than 30,000 books, CDs, DVDs and records that fill the convention center exhibit hall.
Children’s books, which are especially popular, sell for $2 an inch. Volunteers will stack the books and measure them.
Hardback and softcover titles are priced at $2 each, while mass market paperbacks go for $1. Audio books and recordings cost $2.
Large coffee table books cost $5 and will have their own table this year. Antique and rare books are available in a designated section.
Two handmade quilts will be raffled as well. Raffle tickets cost $1 each or six for $5, and the winning tickets will be drawn at 4 p.m. Saturday. You do not have to be present to win.
Sale hours are 10-7 on Friday and 10-5 on Saturday. The Friends accept credit cards, checks and cash.
On Sunday, from 1-4, the sale shifts to $6 a bag, and there’s no limit as to how many bags you can fill. Paper bags are provided by the Friends.
Proceeds from the sale benefit the public library. Over the years, the Friends have provided more than three million dollars’ worth of supplemental support for library materials, programs, and branches, including $650,000 contributed to the new library at Abilene Heritage Square. Kimberly Torres is president of the Friends board.
“Book donations are up by more than 20 percent this year,” said Martha Magee, sale co-chair with Suzanne Melbourne.
The sale will feature a larger number of rare books as well, thanks to two large estate donations, Magee said.
The book sale is staffed entirely by volunteers who unload, sort, stack and organize the thousands of titles donated by residents during the year. Volunteers are available throughout the sale to answer questions, assist buyers and collect money.
To volunteer, email [email protected].
