Farmington Public Library's annual book sale returns this weekend in outdoor format

Library offering boxes of books for $20 this year

Mike Easterling
Farmington Daily Times
Sharon Blue Eyes of the Farmington Public Library staff sorts books before the annual book sale at the institution in August 2017. The event returns to the library this weekend.
  • The book sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 25 at the library.
  • The sale will take place in open-sided tents in the parking lot.
  • The library will be closed during the event so the staff can turn its full attention to the sale.

FARMINGTON — There may not be an unprecedented number of materials available when the Farmington Public Library presents its annual book sale this weekend, but library director Karen McPheeters is sure the selection will please anyone looking to fill out their personal collection.

"It's maybe not a record number, but it's close," she said, describing the inventory that has been building for two years since last year's event was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The book sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 25 at the library, 2101 Farmington Ave. The sale will take place in open-sided tents in the parking lot to make it safer for patrons, and the library will be closed during the event so the staff can turn its full attention to the sale.

McPheeters said the library staff already has done a lot of preparation for the sale.

"We did a deep weeding (of the library collection)," she said, noting that some books are pulled from the library shelves and replaced because of normal wear and tear and others simply because their popularity has waned over the years. "It gives us a chance to spiff up our collection."

That weeding process has led to a huge inventory for this year's sale, an event that typically draws hundreds of shoppers each year. McPheeters doubts anyone will go home disappointed this year.

"We have boxes in every nook and cranny," she said.

The library staff is hoping to promote the sale of more books by offering a special deal this year. Shoppers can buy a box from the library for $20 and take home as many books as they can fit inside.

Tami Jo Bechdol makes her purchases during the 2015 book sale at the Farmington Public Library.

"You just need to be able to close it," McPheeters said.

She said the boxes are big enough to hold at least 20 hard-cover books.

"We're confident this is a good deal," she said.

Those who aren't interested in spending that much money can still buy books at the regular price — $2 for hard-cover books and $1 for paperbacks. The sale also features other library materials such as CDs and periodicals.

The money raised from the sale — usually somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 — goes to the Farmington Public Library Foundation, which spends the money to buy T-shirts for participants in the library's summer reading program.

"It's a nice reward for kids to do the program every summer," she said. "And it was nice to see our numbers up this summer."

In the past, the sale has taken place over several days, but library officials are experimenting with a two-day sale this year, hoping that they can move more books in a shorter period. It also has been moved from the library's Multipurpose Room to the tents in the parking lot. The goal is to make the sale as efficient as possible and limit the exposure of shoppers and library staff members to each other because of the pandemic.

McPheeters is counting on regular library patrons to support the event, and she believes there is some pent-up demand after the event was called off last year.

"We missed it a lot," she said. "We had a lot of questions about it, but we felt like it wouldn't be safe enough. This year, it will be covered in tents, but they will have open sides. And we're asking everybody to just be cautious, be nice."

Anyone interested in volunteering during the sale is asked to call Amanda Wussow at 505-566-2210. For more information about the sale, visit infoway.org.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription.