Many donations, 30 volunteers and 1,200 boxes of books have transformed the Washington Civic Center into a book lover’s paradise.

The Friends of the Brown Library annual book sale opens today at 9 a.m. and will run through Sunday. The book sale is the nonprofit’s major fundraiser every year, one that pulls in a large crowd of readers. For over two decades, FOBL has used the proceeds of the book sale to fund programs of and make purchases for Brown Library, according to Katie Lake, FOBL president.

Four computers for the children’s reading room, librarians’ computers and a few printers, the library’s license for the genealogical website ancestry.com, movie licenses for the teen movie events, laptops and a wheeled locker for storage, the children’s and young adult reading programs and other miscellaneous items for which the library needed funding were paid for by FOBL in 2015 courtesy of the book sale, Lake said.

On Monday, volunteers were delivering books by the box, spanning all genres, to the civic center from their storage location at Coastal Mini Storage on River Road in Washington — a space donated by the owner, Billy Braddy.

“We had an empty room at 8 a.m. on Monday and at five when we left, we could have had a book sale, but a messy one,” Lake said.

Another four hours on Tuesday put the thousands of books in order and a FOBL members-only opening was held Thursday night. It’s a far cry from the early days of the book sale when FOBL rented a small store at the former Washington Square Mall and sold books from there.

“We’ve gone from like one table to the entire civic center filled (with books),” Lake said.

There is no way of knowing what types of books will come each year, as the numbers are based on donations, which this year includes books from several estates donated by the heirs.

“Every year the mix is different. You never know how to plan for what books are going to be popular. Some years, one table will be empty; others are double the amount,” Lake said.

Last year, FOBL netted $15,000 from the book sale and picked up many membership renewals, Lake said. Those interested in becoming a member can visit the book sale, or pick up a sign-up card at Brown Library.

The Friends of the Brown Library book sale is open to the public today and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. On the closing day, patrons can bring a bag and fill it with books for only $5.