QuickTake:

The weekend’s April Book Sale, a benefit for the Eugene Public Library, generated record crowds and revenue. The event has been organized by the Friends of the Eugene Public Library since 1979.

The weekend’s April Book Sale shattered records for attendance and money raised for the Eugene Public Library.

The event, sponsored by the Friends of Eugene Public Library, drew 6,229 people and grossed $88,000 in sales, said Laura Cottam Sajbel, a board member.

The sale, held at the Lane Events Center, has been sponsored by Friends of Eugene Public Library since 1979. The previous records were set last year, when the sale drew about 5,500 people and raised $78,000.

“People were in a good mood,” Cottam Sajbel said.  “A lot of people were excited to tell me they’ve been back for the last 20 years or whatever. I had one couple tell me they came every year,” in part because the sale always is held around the time of their anniversary.

The sunny weather likely was another factor for the high spirits, especially for those attendees who had to wait in line Saturday morning — traditionally the busiest time of the sale. “They would say, ‘Oh, it’s a long line, but it’s moving pretty fast,’” Cottam Sajbel said.

She said other attendees were concerned about the $1 million in cuts that the library has absorbed over the last two years. The city’s general fund no longer pays for new books, materials, subscriptions or programming.

“I think the word has gotten out that that’s something people are concerned about,” she said.

Proceeds from the April Book Sale help pay for books, other materials and programs.

Mike McInally is a Pacific Northwest journalist with four decades of experience in Oregon and Montana, including stints as editor of the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Albany Democrat-Herald.