Friends of the Library Book (and More) Sale is April 28-May 2
March 18, 2021 — Wear a mask, bid on some rare books and plan to load up on great bargains not one day but six of them, if you dare, during the big Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale.
The sale returns to the E*Plex at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds, 3001 N. Grant Ave., and features thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, puzzles and games.
Hours are:
- 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, through Friday, April 30;
- 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Saturday, May 1, Half-Price Day; and
- 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 2, Bag Day. Everything you can jam in a sack is only $1, or $5 from the Better Books side.
Sale veterans know the excitement begins a day earlier with the Friends Night Preview Sale from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 27. Friends members admitted free. Non-members can pay $5 at the door and join the Friends any time that night. Or, join the Friends now by visiting thelibrary.org/friends, call Sarah Hitesman at 417-888-3077, or pick up a membership form at any library branch.
Adult, young adult and children’s books and most audiovisuals are $1 or less; Better Books are priced $2 and up, in all genres imaginable. The Friends accept cash or check only; an ATM is onsite.
As in most years, the sale holds some unusual treasures.
A silent auction from 5 p.m. Friends’ Night through 6 p.m. Friday will feature these finds:
- Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” hardcover, first edition, second printing in 1957.
- Henry David Thoreau’s “A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers,” 1911, cover design by Margaret Armstrong. The book is a narrative of a boat trip that Thoreau took with his brother in 1842.
- “25 Cats Name(sic) Sam and One Blue Pussy” by Andy Warhol, and “Holy Cats” by Warhol’s mother, first edition by Panache Press 1987. They come in a slipcase designed by Yolanda Cuomo. At a time when Warhol was destitute and working as a freelance illustrator, his artist mother Julie moved in to take care of him. The two shared a love of cats and collaborated on this set of books.
- “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling, First American Edition, 1984. There is evidence that Kipling wrote this book for his daughter Josephine, who was ill and died in 1899 at age 6.
Other unique specials include:
- 1,000 musical theater albums and CDs donated by the family of the late Byrne Blackwood. He taught for 37 years at Missouri State University, and co-founded and managed MSU’s Tent Theatre for 25-plus years.
- A section devoted to fiction, nonfiction by Black authors; biography, Black history, biography, society and culture.
- Collectible vinyl records, and kids’ games and puzzles for all ages.
- A new Christmas section in the $1 Value Books section
- Separate collections for “Dogs” and “Cats” in the Animal books section
- Over 10,000 mint postage stamps, packaged and priced below face value.
Proceeds from the Friends’ spring and fall book sales benefit the Springfield-Greene County Library District.
The Friends will observe all Springfield-Greene County Health Department and city requirements in effect regarding masking and social distancing that are in effect at the time of the sale.