Libraries plan massive used book sale
At the library, people can borrow just about any book they want to read for free, but eventually they will have to be returned.
At an upcoming event, people will be able to buy just about any book they could think of at a reduced price, and the money will be put back into Butler County libraries. The first-ever Butler County Bookfest is next week and Karen Pierce, Slippery Rock Community Library director, said it will be a unifier for all of the libraries in the county.
“It gives the county libraries a single face,” Pierce said. “It's an idea we got because other libraries have done this, and it makes sense to have a county sale.”
The bookfest will take place Sept. 1 through. 5 in a barn at the Butler Farm Show grounds, where library staff members have been setting up about 150,000 books over the past week. The exhibit hall is stacked with books of all shapes and sizes, and organized by genre, author and age range, which Pierce said took days of hauling cases of books and setting them out.
The books are provided by Mr. Bookman, also known as Ben Wilkinson, who operates the Mr. Bookman Inc. business in Franklin that sells books and donates to local libraries. The books will be sold at lower prices, ranging from 50 cents to $15, and that price will decrease every day.
Wilkinson said they will be half-price Friday, $1 on Saturday and, on Sunday, people will be able to fill a bag with books for $10.
“It will be slim pickings by the end of the week,” Wilkinson said. “But this place will never look sparse.”
While the selection of 150,000 books is hefty, Pierce said she hopes the event grows to the point that it will fill the adjacent barn with books. She said there is a book sale in Ithaca, New York, that she hopes to emulate in size and scale.
“I can see local authors coming in and selling and signing books,” Pierce said. “It brings tourism in, brings locals in, bring some more money in.”
Pierce's hopes for the future of the sale go beyond even having local authors present.
“Maybe someday, we call up Stephen King and he comes to talk about his books,” she said. “You never know.”
Pierce is also president of the Slippery Rock Rotary Club. She said this event is not directly related to the club itself, but it aligns with the goals of the organization.
“It makes my heart happy to be involved as a Rotarian,” Pierce said. “September is literacy month and I love that there is a way we can get support to libraries.”
The sale takes place from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Sunday at the Butler Farm Show exhibit hall in Connoquenessing Township.
