Book sale, a fundraiser for Eugene library, set for this weekend 

In a warehouse just off Highway 99, some 40,000 books, carefully nestled into about 1,800 brown cardboard boxes, await moving day.

That comes Friday, when the boxes are lugged into trucks and shuttled across town to the Lane Events Center, where hundreds of volunteers prepare for a big weekend: the annual April book sale put on by the Friends of Eugene Public Library, with proceeds benefiting the library.

The sale, which runs Saturday and Sunday, April 11-12, is the showcase event of the year for the Friends of Eugene Public Library. Last year, it attracted more than 6,000 visitors and grossed roughly $88,000. (The organization donated about $150,000 to the library last year from the April sale, two smaller sales and other projects.)

Much of the work for the sale takes place in this warehouse year-round. Volunteers sort through thousands of donated books, classifying them by genre and deciding which ones are destined for sale.

The sorters occasionally are puzzled by what genre would be the best fit for a particular book.

“It’s a science fiction vampire romance,” joked Chris Jones, the chair of the April sale. “What genre do you put that in? We don’t know.”

With some exceptions, most of the books on sale will be priced at $2, although rare books and bestsellers in good condition will go for a few dollars more.

And some of the books that sorters go through head straight to the library’s shelves, Jones said.

Here’s how that works: Each year, Jones said, library staff provide the Friends with a list of books that have been worn down by heavy use. Volunteers keep an eye out for those titles and set them aside for library circulation. In the last year, he said, the Friends have contributed about 1,000 replacement books to the library — at a savings of about $16 per book.

Those books won’t be available this weekend at the sale. But plenty of books, in all sorts of genres, will be on the sale tables, along with recent bestsellers, DVDs, audiobooks, music CDs, puzzles and occasional curiosities — such as hundreds of playbills from Broadway productions and a couple of tables filled with collections of sheet music.

Jones’ connection to the book sale was forged in 2000, the year after he moved to Eugene, when he went to his first sale.

His experience at his first sale mirrored a common one among many attendees. “There were so many amazing books, I brought home 60 of them.” (Attendees are advised to bring a bag or box for their own purchases, and some boxes will be available at the sale.)

That first year for Jones led to years of volunteering for the sale in various capacities. Two years ago, he was recruited to assume the role as chair. 

“I love the book sale,” he said. “I love getting the books out into the community and benefiting the library, of course. My kids, when they were little, used to go to library story time, and that is one of the programs that we fund through our sales at the book sale.”

Proceeds from the sale go to purchasing books and other materials, summer reading gift books for children and teens and events and activities for all ages.

“Our work is $2 at a time,” Jones said. “We love it.”

If you go

What: The Friends of Eugene Public Library April book sale
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 11 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday April 12 (Members of the Friends of Eugene Public Library get a head start. They can enter at 8 a.m. Saturday. Memberships cost $25 and can be purchased at its website.)
Where: Lane Events Center Performance Hall
Cost: Admission and parking are free. All major credit and debit cards and cash are accepted; no checks. Bring a bag or box for your purchases.