Readers, rejoice! The used book sale, held annually by the Hamburg Public Library, will be on Saturday, May 21 at the Hamburg Middle School, which is located just behind the High School on Windsor Street in Hamburg. Doors open at 8 a.m. The sale features tens of thousands of books, all organized by category, to save shoppers time. The prices have not gone up, still one of the biggest bargains out there, most likely allowing readers to stock up for an entire year for less than they would spend for one new hard-cover book. And from noon to 1 p.m. there is a “fill a bag” sale, with no limit on the number of bags buyers can purchase and fill. After 1 p.m., the sale ends for another year.
The friends of the library have been holding this sale for many years, and always do their best to sort the donated books, audio books, CDs and DVDs, and have them displayed on tables in the school cafeteria, for ease in shopping. All proceeds will be used to benefit the library.
This year’s selection is especially good, with so many books in excellent condition. The categories include children’s books, fiction, non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi, romance, young adult, history, biography, cookbooks, westerns, crafts, gardening, religion, classics, plays and poetry. There is an atlas, dictionary and thesaurus section, and for the collectors, there’s an interesting selection of “olde” books. Home-schoolers will find good material for their use. There is a section of large-print books, and also one for foreign languages. The number of CDs and DVDs has grown.
Many of the books are in pristine shape, good for gift-giving. All are in acceptable condition – that is, gently-read but clean and undamaged. Browsers can find what they are seeking, but they might also come upon a surprise, a real gem that they never even thought to look for.
The parking is convenient. The members of the Library Board will hold a bake sale in the school lobby. Dollies will be available for shoppers who have large amounts of books to take to their cars.
This annual used book sale has quite a history. No one is even certain when they began, but 25 years ago could be a good guess. It has been set up at various venues – Ames Department Store, borough hall and one year it was even in a tent outside the library, when its indoor location was undergoing renovations! Buyers always tell the checkout people how eagerly they wait for it, and how happy they are to find good books while also supporting their library.
