*Image credit below

As many of you know because you were there scooping up bargains, the Friends’ Big Book Sale was the last weekend in February.  What a whopping success with a record $37,000 earned!  It was the first book sale where folks could use their debit and credit cards and about 17% of the sales came from plastic.

Dozens of volunteers pitched in to make it happen.  There were 30 ROTC cadets as well as Youth Volunteer Corps and College Hill School helpers, plus the throng of regulars.
A Friend talked to a lady from Montana at the sale.  Apparently, the lady’s family plans their reunion every year to coincide with the book sale.  She comes from Montana and her sister comes down from Seattle. Our book sale is a destination vacation!

So if you missed it this year, come next year.  Read the blog to track the smaller sales throughout the year.  (To be sure you don’t miss a post, sign up to get the blog via email (top right of this page), or subscribe to our RSS feed.) You can always buy some reading material between sales in the Friends’ area here at the Corvallis Library or the Philomath Library.

In a little while, the Friends will begin accepting donations again. They have scored a new storage area on Wake Robin.  If you are sorting books as part of your spring cleaning, hold those items.  You will soon be able to bring them to the main library and leave them for the Friends.

Posted by Amy, a second floor librarian

*Image credit: AQS Collector Books “hurt” book sale by circulating, on Flickr

• Friday, Feb. 26th, 5 pm – 9 pm
• Saturday, Feb. 27th, 10 am – 5 pm
• Sunday, Feb. 28th, 11 am – 4 pm

All of the proceeds from the sale go to support your library. Just one more good excuse to go stock up on great used books, music, and more!

Update (2/23): Just heard from the Friends of the Library that on Sunday, a whole box of books will go for just $5.00!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

*Photo credit below

Well it’s that time of year again – the Friends of the Library’s Holiday Book Sale is back!Join the Friends at the Corvallis library this Saturday, December 5th, from 10 am to 4 pm. You’ll find high quality used books ready for gifting, plus lots more.

To learn more about the Friends and how you can help, check out their website.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

*Photo credit: Colorado 2005 – 054, by Michael (mx5tx), on Flickr

used books, by babblingdweeb, on Flickr

The Friends of the Library are holding a summer book sale in July, for one day only!

Come to the Corvallis Library’s main meeting room on Saturday, July 11th, from 10am to 5pm.

There you’ll find 50 boxes of books for sale, with every book priced at $3 or less.

Time to go load up!

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian

A Rainbow of Books, by Dawn Endico, on Flickr

The library generates a lot of used books. We buy lots of new books each year, which means a bunch of old stuff has got to go.

People also like to donate books to the library – boxes and boxes of them! Many of these aren’t in the sort of condition we require.

So what happens with the thousands of books that we need to get rid of each year?

Well, there’s a couple of things that happen. Some of our used books go to the fabulous Friends of the Library, who sell them in their thrice-yearly book sales or on the 50 cent bookshelf in the library. Some books aren’t in any condition to be sold, even for 50 cents – those ones get recycled.

The Friends also go through donations for books that can be sold online for more money – things like first editions, signed books, and other items that are special in some way. This venture is called Benton Books, and you can read more about it here. Benton Books sells on Biblio, Amazon, Alibris, and AbeBooks (just search for Benton Books as the seller). Since January 2005, Benton Books has raised over $30 000 for the library!

All of this is just one example of the amazing support the Friends give to the library. Thank you Friends! You guys are awesome.

Posted by Lisa, a second floor librarian