Library's Friends plan 25th annual book sale—July 3, 2008
Hastings’ own bestseller will occur next weekend, July 11, 12 and 13 at the city auditorium. Volunteers have been working year-round in preparation for what may be the Friends of the Hastings Public Library’s greatest used book sale ever, and one of the largest in the state.
This one also marks a milestone for Friends as its 25th annual sale. Dubbed “Hi-Ho Silver,” special events throughout the weekend will celebrate this anniversary.
If you are a booklover or a bargain hunter, this is one sale you won’t want to miss.
Friends’ annual sale has received national recognition for being one of the country’s biggest and most well-organized. It’s been spotlighted in “American Profile” magazine“ and also “FOLUSA NewsUpdate,” a publication of the Friends of Libraries USA.
What sets our Friends’ sale apart from others is not just quantity, it’s quality and the way the books are sorted - which is a multiphase, year-round endeavor. Library staff and volunteers check and sort every item into one of 70 categories that will be marked with signs to make shopping easier. Chances are good that anyone looking for something specific, will find it, if it’s there. Volunteers will be on hand throughout the weekend to help shoppers navigate among some 50,000 to 100,000 books.
Books will range from collectibles dating back to the 1800s, to gently-used recent bestsellers. Fiction is sorted into several categories for children and adults. Besides the largest genre - romance, there will be mysteries, westerns, science fiction, large print and literature. Non-fiction categories include biography, true crime, history, Nebraska interest, foreign language, reference, cookbooks, home improvement, self-help, sports, humor, textbooks, the arts and much more.
More than 50 different titles of magazines will be sold by the pound.
It takes a tremendous effort by about 200 volunteers to pull it all together. Special kudos are due to more than a dozen dedicated volunteers who have categorized and boxed literally more than 25 tons of books, about the weight of five or six Shrine Circus elephants!
An estimated 10 percent of the books are library withdrawals and the rest are donations from the public. We take pride in the fact that our hand sorting process ensures that all items are in good, clean condition.
We always encourage serious book shoppers to come 5-9 p.m. Friday evening when the sale opens. By noon that day we always have a line forming outside the building. There is a charge to attend Friday; no charge 9-5 Saturday when there still will be thousands of good books to choose from. Anything left 12-4 p.m. Sunday will go for $1 per bag; collectibles will be half-price.
Keeping good used books circulating is Friends’ goal which happily is realized every time we see excited children and adults leaving the sale with armloads of books or even a single treasure. . .a childhood favorite, a textbook at a fraction of bookstore prices or something out of print and unavailable at any price.
An additional 800+ collectible books also are available through Friends’ online store: www.amazon.com/shops/hastingsfriends
Book a date with Friends. . .we hope to see you at the sale!
