Ellen Byron

I Heart Friends of Library Sales

On the last Saturday of every month my local library, the Studio City branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system, hosts a book sale. And on every last Saturday of a month that I’m in town, I am there.

Studio City Library, from the LAPL website

I can’t remember when I realized the sale existed or it became a vital part of my life. I’m pretty sure it was post-my daughter’s childhood, which is too bad because their children’s section is beyond awesome. But even minus the stacks of children’s books I would have bought, I still do damage every month. It’s so easy when hardcovers are priced at a dollar and paperbacks are only fifty cents. Case in point, the stack I scored this past Saturday of vintage cookbooks, along with kids’ books for our next-door neighbors:

My passion for library sales isn’t limited to my local branch. I never miss a chance to drop by a Friends of the New Orleans Library sale when I’m in the Big Easy. The Milton H. Latter Library, housed in a 1907 mansion with a tragic past, hosts them in the mansion’s former carriage house. (Sidebar: if you’re going to Bouchercon in New Orleans this summer, I’ll be making a pilgrimage to the sale, probably Wednesday morning. If you’re interested in learning more, LMK. Also, the New Orleans Public Library system will be the fundraising recipient at the con.)

Courtesy friendsnola.org

The setting and selection are sublime. It’s where I picked up these fab finds:

That twenty dollars is the most I’ve ever paid at a book sale. But how could I resist the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about every historical marker in Louisiana? And the cookbook, an homage to Rex, the city’s most famed Mardi Gras krewe, was another amazing find. Where else would I find this bizarre recipe for something called “Almond Soup” from the 1933 queen of Rex? (I made it, and it was pretty much inedible. But that didn’t stop me from including it in the recipes for Vintage Cookbook Mystery #4 with a couple of provisos.)

I don’t limit my searches to cookbooks. I always check out other sections like crafts, non-fiction, and mystery – where I’ve not only found a friend’s book on occasion, I’ve even found one or two of my own. And check out this haul from 1942:

Again, impossible to resist. Have I read one? Not yet. Will I? Maybe. And if not, I’ll re-donate them, something I’ve done before. I’m always donating to the library sales myself. I dropped off seven boxes last year. (Although you wouldn’t know it, thanks to how often I replenish my shelves). I get a kick out of seeing people adding books from my donations to the piles they’re buying.

I cannot emphasize enough the priceless contributions libraries make to our society. Library sales are a fantastic way of supporting them while indulging in our love of reading. I’m so grateful to all the volunteers dedicating themselves to running these sales that this will be the dedication in my fourth Vintage Cookbook Mystery:

Readers, are there library sales where you live? Do you go to them?

36 thoughts on “I Heart Friends of Library Sales”

  1. My library, where I work, has a store where we sell books every day we’re open. Some books are those the staff have weeded out from the collections (also audiobooks and DVDs), while even more come from the books that are donated almost every day. We also have a “Free” shelf in the lobby, where the Circulation staff puts out books and magazines, mostly when the store shelves are packed. The free books are just that – they are stamped “Free” on the top edge of the page block. My husband has found some amazing bargains in the store – a gorgeous book on Japanese swords, for example – we charge $.25 for paperbacks and magazines, and $1 for hardcovers. That sword book cost my husband one buck. He tried to give more, but one of our Administrators told him not to worry. Sometimes he puts some more money in the Friends of the Library box we have just outside my department, where people can donate any amount to help for programs.

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      1. I work at Bay County Public Library in Panama City, FL. We’re the headquarters library for the Northwest Regional Library System in the Western part of the Florida Panhandle. And I’d absolutely LOVE it if you could visit!

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  2. I love the sales our library has several times a year. I gave up book buying for Lent but this month there was one and Sunday afternoon all the remaining books were free. I told friends about the sale so I gave myself a pass to go and look at the “freebies”. I only found a few but there was one that many had passed over that leapt into my bag. It was still there waiting for me to find. When I do buy at sales, I pick up extra copies of my favorite authors/reads to put in our local Little Free Library boxes. I will help promote in any way I can and I find new for myself sometimes so it works out well.

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  3. The Hubby and I used to go to library sales all the time. You know, when we had shelf space. He still goes occasionally and brings home bags of books, looks at me, and says, “Yeah, I know. But look what I found!”

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  4. I LOVE libraries and go to the Ottawa Public Library every week (when i am home). But I rarely go to the Mammoth monthly book sales. The facility is way out in the suburbs. It would take an hour each way to get there. Instead, I do peruse the Friends of the Library shelf to see what is available.

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      1. Yes, OPL has one massive book sale/month. I made the trek a few times and it was not worth going.

        Singapore is 9 hours ahead of California. It’s now April 1, 12:30 am. I am here for another 1.5 days, flying to Taiwan on April 2 for one week. Same time zone as Singapore.

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          1. Thanks, Jen. Stay tuned for foodie adventures, part 2, Taiwanese style. I told you before that I am looking forward to my first time at Din Tai Fung, night markets & traditional Taiwanese breakfasts. And also doing day trips for fun cultural experiences.

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  5. What fun, El! I’m curious about that Crime Club collection–looks pretty cool. Maybe we should bring it back! But also, I am still gagging here over the almond soup recipe. Is it possible the queen of the crewe offered that as a joke (or for some kind of revenge)? I would have called for her crown immediately for the line “stir for one-half hour” alone. Our local library runs a book sale every day, year-round. The books are set out on the big wraparound porch of the building (a Victorian mansion) and there’s a donation box, honor system. Sign me up for the Bouchercon jaunt.

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  6. Yay for libraries! There’s a branch not too far from me that has the daily, donation box system. But the one closest to me does the semi-regular sales (although there’s also a smaller shelf in the library in case you’re looking for a deal). Also, I’ve found a few library systems that have stores run by volunteers, which is always a delight to wander around in and find great gifts.

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  7. My local library system, which I adore, puts on book sales from time to time. I don’t attend them because I already have gobs of books I’ll probably never read. Still, I’m happy events like these happen!

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  8. Ellen, I loved visiting the library in NOLA during the Bouchercon That Wasn’t. I’m going to try to get there again in September. If that book on Louisiana Highway Historical Markers has the one on First Acadian Settlers, the Jacques Cantrelle mentioned is Bob’s ancestor. His relatives helped settle in the Acadians when they arrived.

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      1. I had to look it up. It’s west of NOLA, in St. James Parish, near Donaldsonville. There’s another one in NOLA proper, in Algiers, marking the Verret Plantation. That Verret is his 5th great-uncle.

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  9. I’ve gone to library sales over the years, but it’s been a while. I should make an effort to donate some of my overstocked books to a sale, however. But that sounds like work, and I’d rather be reading.

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  10. I don’t go to them, but I do donate to them two or three times a year. We have too many libraries, and they aren’t on a regular schedule

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  11. The Friends of the Library sales here in Hilo are amazing, and on the last day you can fill a shopping bag for five dollars! (Guess how we stocked our home library when we first moved here 18 years ago.)

    And the FotL in Santa Cruz have been hosting book events by me and other marvelous local mystery authors for years. What a treasure are libraries and their friends!

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  12. My local Friends of the Library group has an ongoing book sale but also a huge annual sale. The first time I checked it out, I took a lunch break, thinking I’d only be 30 minutes. I walked in and was overwhelmed with how big it was. I did the only thing I could do: returned several times that week. Every year, my book collection grew exponentially. Now, I volunteer with the Friends group, so I help at the sale. It has helped me to not overload my already overloaded book shelves.

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  14. Hi Ladies,

    I don’t know if you have time to fit this into the announcements, but
    I’m co-presenting an author book talk  this Thursday, in person and
    online. Here is the Zoom Link, in case anyone is interested in checking
    it out:

    https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89651545179?pwd=JQFZIRLP3nPodnS3foF6B3udcY8aL5.1

    There is also a flier, if you’d like me to forward it to you…

    Hope you have a Very Happy, Healthy, Holiday Season!
    Rima Riedel🙂

    Free Program: Ever Wonder How Authors Create Their Works?
    Thursday, April 10,from 6:30 to8:PM
    Whiton Branch Memorial Library Auditorium
    100 North Main Street
    Manchester,CT 06040 **
    *
    ***860 645 0821
    *manchesterct.gov/library
    *

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