The Friends of the Austin Public Library is coming into a busy swing during the next few weeks.

The annual meeting of the Friends of the Austin Public Library will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in the large meeting room at the library. A short business meeting will precede a presentation by Mary Shideler. Shideler will discuss her book, “The Kayak Lady,” and her 15-year quest to paddle all 1,007 lakes in Itasca County. Books will be available. Her author visit is free and open to the public.

Austin High School graduate and author Janet Groth will speak in the large meeting room at the library at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. Her book, “The Receptionist: An Education at the New Yorker,” tells about Groth’s 21 years as a receptionist at the New Yorker. She has interacted with some of the most gifted authors of the 20th century. Her presentation is free and open to the public, as well.

The special events are all leading up to the Friends’ fall used book sale. The sale to the public is Friday, Oct. 5, and Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The $5 bag sale is from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. that Saturday. Funds raised will provide the Austin Public Library with new programs and materials. Recently, the Friends provided a new portable stage for the library and $3,000 for the summer reading program. Milly Burroughs, chairperson of the sale, and the Friends of the Library have been sorting book donations. The public is asked to bring donations of books, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes, and audio books to the library until Sept. 24.

Stop at the front desk to become a member of the Friends of the Library. The cost is $10 per year per household. Members will have access from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, for a presale at the fall book sale, as well.