Sanibel Public Library holds 12th annual book sale
The highly anticipated $1 book sale is back at the Sanibel Public Library. Starting yesterday, patrons have the chance to fill up a bag of books, magazines, audio books, DVDs and videos for just $1. The sale is held in the downstairs lobby and ends once everything is gone.
Since its inception, the twice-a-year book sale, which is also held in June, has grown tremendously. In its early years, the book sale was held in a small meeting room upstairs. Circulation Desk Manager Wendy Lambrix said about 300 people attended last year’s sale.
“In January, we by far have more people,” Lambrix said.
Lambrix also noted that they have twice the number of books for sale this year. The library staff has been weeding out the books since summer.
“I get a kick out of it. Some of the people will take 10 bags and I don’t know what they do with all of them. They get really excited about it. It’s also a great way for us to get rid of some of these books because we don’t have the storage for them. This year, because of the weeding, we have a huge variety. It’s going to be a good sale,” Lambrix said.
She said surprisingly, the men have been some of their best customers.
“I think it’s because they’re less concerned about where to put the books or where to keep them,” she said.
Lambrix also said that the library has its own book sale room that is open year-round upstairs.
“Right next to the circulation desk we have a little room and that’s where we put the really nice almost-new books. We do have a lot of people that go in there quite often. Mostly what we sell from there are paperbacks. We sell them for $1 and $2. We get some beautiful donations,” Lambrix said.
The tables will be replenished with new books twice a day during the sale. Proceeds will go towards the Sanibel Public Library Foundation which helps support their programming.