Friends of Library calling for donations

Published 11:59 am Monday, March 26, 2012

Though it’s still a month away, the Austin Public Library is gearing up for its spring used book sale.

The sale — sponsored by Friends of the Austin Public Library and American Association of University Women — relies on book donations from the public, which the Library can then resell to fund many of its educational programs and needs. The AAUW will use its portion of the funds to give directly toward Riverland scholarships, as well.

The sale takes place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, and donors are urged to give quality books, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks and even VHS tapes. People may leave materials at the counter in the library from now until April 24. While the book sale raised as much as $4,000 in the past, last fall’s sale had a lull, according to Dorothy Krob, a Friend of the Austin Public Library.

Email newsletter signup

Krob said perhaps e-readers and tablets could mean people didn’t donate as many books last year as they may have before, but Krob hopes the sale will pick up again this spring, as the money supports many things at the library. In the past, the money has sponsored the Page Turners events, other author visits, educational programs for kids and new computer purchases, among other things.

“What we want to do is make sure that we can sponsor programs at the library,” Krob said about the Friends’ portion of money used from the donations.

She added, “Really, the money is well used with wonderful things at the library.”

Krob said the book sale has some interesting aspects to it, as well. The Friends will give $5 coupons to all area teachers for use at the sale. Furthermore, anyone can sign up to be a Friend of the Library for $10, and Friends will get first dibs on items during next fall’s book sale.

Friends of the Library and AAUW members will be present to answer questions and provide help.