BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Where can you find a first-edition copy of “The Little Engine That Could” for $50, The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz complete with CDs for $5, a Scrabble Players Dictionary for $1.50 and TV series by the season on DVD for $1?
At a place known for its books, but not for charging customers.
The Bethlehem Area Public Library book sales, of course.
- Bethlehem Area Public Library held a book sale Wednesday, featuring about 20,000 selections
- First-edition books, audiobooks, CDs, TV shows and movies on DVD, vinyl records and more were up for grabs
- The next event will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 15
Library book sale supervisor Laurel Stone said Wednesday featured about 20,000 selections, with offerings as diverse as fiction, cookbooks, biographies and a lot more.
Making that happen takes donations from the community, along with the hard work of many volunteers, as some visitors were leaving the event with books by the cartload.
“We’re here three days a week,” Stone said. “People bring donations into the library every day, they leave them.
“There’s a donation bin out front, they’re brought down here and my supervisor, my volunteers and I sort through them all and put them up with six sales a year — about every two months we have a sale.”
Another round on Saturday
With another sale coming from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, the volunteer group will be hard at work Thursday and Friday restocking the shelves of the page-turning paradise.
Library Executive Director Josh Berk said the event offers those interested the chance to scratch their itch for new books while also helping out a local cause.
“We’re overjoyed to bring back the beloved book sale after our recent renovations,” Berk said in a recent news release. “The BAPL book sale is a haven for avid readers, allowing them to discover their next literary obsession while also making a meaningful contribution to the library.”
Shoppers also can take their pick from a variety of CDs, with the musical works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Tchaikovsky.
More modern music lovers can choose from vinyl or CDs featuring selections from stars of the big band and swing eras, jazz, blues, instrumentals, country, oldies, TV soundtracks and even music from Broadway, among others.
DVDs spanning drama, action, sci-fi fantasy, comedy, sports westerns and more lie in wait. For educators, a plethora of books highlighting crafts, arts, poetry and much more are at your disposal.
Stone said the events average about 10,000 sales, with the great majority of the selections just $1. That money goes back into covering operating costs for the library.
Plan to arrive early
If you’re looking to take part this weekend, be sure to arrive early. Stone said the start of Wednesday’s event saw 150 people lined up to get in.
Volunteers were letting in about 60 people at a time for the earlier hours, but had to narrow it down to six at a time soon after, as people had “been coming in steadily,” Stone said.
“Everyone said that when the e-books came out that books would be, you know, a thing of the past. Look around you. Everyone still loves to hold books and read books.”Laurel Stone, Bethlehem Area Public Library book sale supervisor
She said books are “precious,” and she gets her love of reading from her mother.
“Everyone said that when the e-books came out that books would be, you know, a thing of the past,” Stone said. She motioned around the crowd throughout the room.
“Look around you," she said. "Everyone still loves to hold books and read books.”
Bonnie Riehl and Mason Seay, of Durham, North Carolina, said they've been in the area since Sunday for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
“I’m looking for mainly obscure science fiction and fantasy from authors that I’m not familiar with."Mason Seay, visitor from Durham, North Carolina
Riehl explained they had just heard about the book sale about 15 minutes before hopping in line. The two added they frequent their local library back home, more than seven hours away.
Riehl said she hoped to come across a title from Gabriel García Márquez, author of the Nobel Prize-winning “One Hundred Years of Solitude” as well as “Love in the Time of Cholera.”
“He passed away a while ago, so I’d be really excited if I found something by him,” Riehl said.
As for Seay, he mentioned he was shooting to find something on a different end of the genre spectrum.
“I’m looking for mainly obscure science fiction and fantasy from authors that I’m not familiar with,” he said.
Thoughts from those in line
As the line for the book sale stretched the length of the downstairs hallway of the library at some points Wednesday, some folks had to find a way to pass the time.
Lori Friebolin, a teacher from Macungie, did just that by perusing through a Lauren Graham biography: “Talking As Fast As I Can.”
“I’m a teacher, and I need books for my classroom. Most of my students are second-language learners, so I’m hoping there’s some books in Spanish.”Lori Friebolin, Macungie resident
As a frequenter of the Lower Macungie Library, she said she finds herself gravitating to thrillers for the most part. But she said her students were what brought her to the sale in Bethlehem.
“I’m a teacher, and I need books for my classroom,” Friebolin said. “Most of my students are second-language learners, so I’m hoping there’s some books in Spanish.”
Lya Ali, an intern with Community Action Development Corporation, said she was looking to grab up some textbooks or anything involving sociology.
A couple of ladies in the checkout line showed off their selections, with one referring proudly to “the mindless read” of the bunch, and the other grabbing “this, that and the other” to take home.
Somebody chimed in from behind, saying that a “popcorn” book is a must-buy at any of these events.
The next book sales will be Sept. 20 and 23 at the library at 11 W. Church St., Bethlehem.
