Friends of the Library fall used book sale coming Sept. 16-19


Story provided by Stillwater Public Library

The Friends of the Stillwater Public Library are continuing with plans to hold its fall used book sale Sept. 16-19 with a few adjustments. The book sale will take place at the Payne County Fairgrounds where books can be spread out and shoppers can peruse selections while keeping more physically distanced. The Friends of the Library are also requiring that all shoppers, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask at the sale.

Attendees to the Thursday evening members’ preview sale will pay $5 at the door. Anyone who has purchased a lifetime Friends membership or submitted 2021 membership dues will not be charged.

The Friends will have thousands and thousands of used books and other materials available for its standard rock-bottom prices. Hardbacks are $1, paperbacks and audiovisual materials are 50 cents, and children’s books are just 25 cents each. No sales tax is charged.

Friends’ board member, Saundra Mace, is excited that the Friends were able to find a way to host the sale this year and thinks it will be one of the biggest they’ve had.

“This sale will likely have more items than a typical sale due to the additional year of stored material,” Mace said. “While the library did not accept donations for nearly a year, the Friends had a full room of books prior to the pandemic and large numbers of donations have been coming into the library since late May.”

With a bigger sale, in a bigger location, the Friends of the Library will need more volunteers than they have in the past. Individuals or organizations that would like to volunteer at the sale, straightening books and helping shoppers load their material, should fill out the volunteer form at https://tinyurl.com/volunteer4fol.

The book sale will run during its usual times:

·         Thursday evening, Sept. 16, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.: FOL members’ preview sale. ($5 entry fee or current lifetime or FOL membership required)

·         Friday, Sept. 17, 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.: Open to general public (no entry fee)

·         Saturday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.: Open to general public (no entry fee)

·         Sunday, Sept. 19, 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.: $1 bag sale (Bags will be provided for shoppers to fill with the books of their choice. Bags are $1 each and there is no limit to the number of bags shoppers can purchase.)

The Friends will make a final assessment of Stillwater’s Covid-19 situation at their next meeting on Thursday, Sept. 2. Any changes to book sale plans will be posted the next day to the Friends’ and the library’s Facebook pages and to the library’s website at http://library.stillwater.org.

The Friends of the Library is an independent, non-profit organization that raises funds through annual book sales, the proceeds of which go to support Stillwater Public Library programming and initiatives. Follow the Friends at https://tinyurl.com/stwlibfriends.

The Stillwater Public Library is located at 1107 S. Duck St. Library hours are Monday- Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.