Holiday book sale returns; Sale featuring books from Barnes & Noble kicking off Thursday
Published 10:53 am Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Milly Burroughs and Dick Benzkofer talk over a cart of books as they prepare for the the annual Friends of the Austin Public Library Holiday Book Sale Monday afternoon. — Photos by Jenae Hackensmith/jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com
The Friends of the Austin Public Library is bringing a little bit of Barnes & Noble back to Austin with the second year of a popular new book sale.
The sale brings in new books from Barnes & Noble to sell at cost — no tax — to the community. This year’s sale will take place from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, 12 to 4 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Austin Public Library.
Friends of the Library publicity chairperson Dorothy Krob said last year’s sale went very well, though the group didn’t know how the community would receive the new sale.
Books stand ready for the annual Friends of the Austin Public Library Holiday Book Sale.
“It was a smashing success,” she said. “We had such a good time doing it, and there was such a festive spirit. People were lined up by the door; we couldn’t have asked for better results.”
In fact, last year’s sale went so well, the $7,000 worth of merchandise the group initially bought wasn’t enough to cover the community’s wants, so Barnes & Noble had to make a few more trips out to Austin with more books. This year, the group bought over $15,000 worth of merchandise.
The sale moved from the small meeting room to the large room at the library.
“We’re hoping that we would have the same response as we did last year, because it was overwhelming how much people enjoyed it,” Krob said.
The sale doesn’t only feature books, though, as there are also puzzles, games, journals, cookbooks, calendars, planners, art supplies and more. There is also a free gift-wrapping station.
Friends members and volunteers set up the sale Monday and Tuesday, putting out yards of red felt for the tables and setting up a Christmas tree in the middle of the tables filled with books and merchandise. Krob reminded everyone the sale is mainly to bring new books back to Austin for the Christmas season, but it’s also a fundraiser for programs at the library. Profits from the sale will be donated to the Austin Public Library to help fund things like the children’s summer reading program, books for children, entertainment at the library, the Austin Page Turners program, author visits, and the Eberhart Poetry Contest in the spring.
“The library is such a treasure,” she said. “I just really think it’s wonderful to promote the treasure that the library is for all of us.”
A Christmas tree stands in the middle of the big meeting room as members get ready for the annual Friends of the Austin Public Library Holiday Book Sale Monday afternoon.
People can also support the cause and become a member of the Friends of the Library. The funds for the books came from the Friends of the Library’s general fund. Organizers are able to return any books not sold during the sale, although they may donate some of them to the library.
Krob said organizers tried not to purchase many religious items, as they didn’t want to parallel or take away from the Philomathian Religious Books and Gifts on Main Street, which specializes in religious books and items.
Krob thanked all the volunteers who signed up to help with the sale.
“We really want to give a big thank you to the volunteers,” she said.
The Friends of the Library also won the 2015 Evy Nordley Award of Best Project during the annual Minnesota Library Association conference on Oct. 8 for bringing the holiday book sale to the community last year.
