People shop for bargains on used books at the Friends of the Library’s annual book sale in 2013. (File photo)
Book lovers will find countless books of every genre on sale at bargain prices at Friends of the Library’s annual sale on Saturday.
The event is held at the fountain next to town hall and officially runs from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. But as with many garage sales, eager early birds often arrive to finger though the selection as it’s being set up.
“There are all genres,” said Librarian Kathy Burton. “There’s paperback, there’s fiction, there’s non-fiction, children’s books. It covers the full gamut.”
Books range in price from 50 cents to two dollars.
Some of the books are discarded library books and others are donated. Donated books that are in really bad shape are discarded, so the books being sold are in good used condition, Burton said.
The Osoyoos Branch of Okanagan Regional Library used to run the sale itself, but in recent years Friends of the Library, a volunteer group, has run it.
The group maintains its own bank account and provides the library with various contributions ranging from a newspaper rack, a carpet for the children’s section, Lego blocks, a bookcase for used books and even fees to cover honorariums of guest speakers.
“They also help us purchase books for summer reading club,” said Burton. “They help us with quite a number of things.”
Books are collected year-round, and smaller numbers are sold from a shelf in the library throughout the year.
Friends of the Library gets together about three times a year to sort through the contributed books, discarding those in bad condition or ones that obviously won’t sell.
“It’s a great event,” said Burton. “It’s usually very well attended.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
