By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
jonathan@wdnweb.com
Staff Writer
If you like a good book, chances are you’ll be able to find something to interest you this weekend at the annual Friends of the Brown Library book sale.
More than 1,000 cases of books — approximately 25,000 volumes — will be on sale at the Washington Civic Center, according to organizers of the occasion.
The sale begins with Members’ Night, for members of Friends, from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday.
The event is open to the public from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and it concludes with a “Fill-Our-Bags for $5” day from noon until 3 p.m. Sunday.
Also on offer will be books on tape, CDs and long-playing records, all donated by supporters of the library, with some books culled from Brown’s shelves as discards.
The sale raises money for Friends, a nonprofit group that uses this money to buy things for the library.
Proceeds from past sales have been expended on everything from new public-use computers to book racks, related Rachel Mills, president of Friends.
The money also goes into children’s programs held over the summer at the library, and into adult programs at the Turnage Theater, said Mills.
Last year, the book sale netted more than $20,000, she shared.
So far, the sale doesn’t seem to have been affected by the e-book revolution, Mills confirmed.
“For some reason, there are still a whole bunch of people who buy books,” she said.
The sale is “extremely important” to Friends and the library it supports, said Fran Brundage, a past president of the fundraising organization.
“It’s our biggest moneymaker of the year,” Brundage said.
The cash generated by the patrons who buy these books helps support major budget items that can’t be funded by the City of Washington, which owns the library, she said.
Buyers who want to take advantage of a wide variety of books should come early, Brundage advised, though she added, “There are good books pretty much right up to the end.”
Anyone wishing to be a member of Friends may join the group by paying $15 in annual dues.