Stacks upon stacks, tables upon tables, books upon books—that is what can be seen at the Washington Civic this weekend as a local organization that supports the Brown Library gears up for its annual book sale.

The Friends of Brown Library will host the event Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, from 12 p.m. (noon) to 3 p.m. A ‘Friends’ Night will be held tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for those who are associated with the volunteer organization that, for the most part, funds equipment, programming and other materials and activities at the Brown Library, said Katie Lake, president of the Friends.

The sale was started in 1989 by local couple Dave and Nancy Nash, which in that year, only saw $20 profit, Nancy Nash said. However, over the years, the sale has grown into a monumental collection of books donated by the community, with maximum profit up to $20,000 in years past. This year, the organization generated 1,136 boxes of books to sort for the sale, which have been categorized by genre and fiction or nonfiction classification. The books donated are used but in good condition and a vast majority of them have come from community residents who have dropped them off at the Brown Library, Lake said.

“I know we sell some of the same books year after year,” Lake said. “They read them and bring them back.”

Lake said the book sale is made possible each year due to a large core of volunteers, and in years past, the group has had as many as 100 volunteers set up for the book sale. The books available at the sale range from children’s books to fictional novels to books on particular topics, including military, cooking, gardening and many more, and prices range from a quarter to $25, depending on what type of book it is. The group ensures a wide variety of books available at the sale due to changes in reading trends, Lake said.

Nancy Nash said out-of-town guests have visited and perused the book sale in past years and have been very impressed with the magnitude and organization of the event.

“People have visited us from out of town and have told us it was the best organized book sale they have ever seen,” Nash said.

Lake said the organization hosts the sale each year to aid the library in several projects, as well as replacing or adding much-needed equipment. Due to cuts in the City of Washington budget, many needed projects, equipment and materials at the library would not be possible, if not for the Friends of the Brown Library. Recently, the group purchased new AWE computers, which were installed in the library’s Children’s Room for use by its young readers. However, over the years, the library’s Friends have one-by-one checked off items on a long list of needs the library has. Among the assistance and purchases made by the Friends include: e-books and e-magazines, which can be downloaded and accessed by the library’s users; a new operating software system used by the circulation staff to check books in and out; a router that failed; the library’s Young Adult program, which has grown and expanded from a handful of participants to over three-dozen; upgrades to a shed on the library’s premises in order for volunteers to sort donated books; and many other activities, projects and materials, Lake said.

“The City budget keeps getting tighter and tighter, and we’re happy to have things like the book sale in order to fund projects and activities at the library,” Lake said.

To donate books or to volunteer for the Friends of Brown Library, contact the Brown Library at 252-946-4300 or write to Friends of Brown Library, c/o Brown Library, 122 Van Norden St., Washington, NC 27889.