Library holds annual spring book sale
As spring break approaches, there are several book-filled tables in the Merrill-Cazier library atrium bearing the advertisement: “All books only 25 cents.”
Between 9 a.m on Wednesday and 3 p.m. on Friday, the library is holding its annual Spring Book Sale. The sale is designed to clear excess donations and old inventory from the library and give students a chance to find books to read during spring break, said Gaby LeBeau, who works with the Gifts and Special Collections department at the library.
An average of 2,000 to 2,500 books are sold each year at the sale, which is approximately 75 percent of the books offered, LeBeau said.
Amanda Duncan, head of collection development at the library, said there are three types of books that are accepted into the book sale: first, books that are old or no longer suit the library’s collection; second, books that have been donated to the library during the year that the library already has copies of; and third, popular books donated by Jenson Books, a book store in North Logan.
Rather than recycling or getting rid of the books, Duncan said the library holds the sale as a way of “giving back” to Utah State University students.
“Sometimes students will see a new, shiny book on the table and think, ‘Oh, why is this book only for 25 cents?’” Duncan said. “Why would we want to recycle that book or ship it off somewhere when a Utah State student could have it and read it for spring break, enjoy it and then maybe pass it on to someone else? We want the books to find a good home.”
Duncan said there are a lot of great books in the sale, but the library can’t accept all of them because there isn’t enough space.
“There’s a lot of good stuff there,” Duncan said. “For one reason or another, we get some really cool books, but we’re not going to add 20 copies of a certain book (to the collection).”
Duncan also said that there are many popular books in the sale because there are so many copies in circulation that they are worth very little and the library can afford to sell them for a quarter.
The library made about $500 in last year’s sale, evidence that the sale isn’t a “huge money-maker,” LeBeau said.
“It’s more of a community service,” she said. “We are an academic community and lots of people like books and knowledge. And everyone likes a bargain.”
The revenue from the sale is used to help fund the work of student positions in the library, LeBeau said.
She said books left unsold after the sale are donated to organizations like Better World Books and Worldwide Book Drive, programs that promote worldwide literacy by either selling the books to raise money for the cause or by shipping books to countries that need them.
— melmo12@gmail.com