They come for vintage classics and children’s hardbacks and historical romance.
They slide titles off metal shelves and fill paper sacks.
They browse for hours, scanning spines for the perfect read.
And they purchase their finds all at a bargain price.
Three weekends each year, book-lovers galore descend into the basement of the Amarillo Public Library’s downtown branch for the Friends of the Amarillo Public Library’s book sale.
“It’s super-fun chaos,” said Stacy Clopton, coordinator of public relations and programming for the library. “We see book-lovers of all sorts, everyone looking for something different, everyone excited to shop.”
The final book sale of 2025 runs this weekend, Dec. 5-7.
Proceeds from the sale benefit the Friends of the Amarillo Public Library, a private nonprofit dedicated to supporting the library. The sale features books (of course), as well as movies and audiobooks that have been withdrawn from the library collection or donated.
The assortment of shoppers includes teachers searching for classroom sets, booksellers supplementing their inventory, and (mostly) people who simply enjoy reading, Clopton said.
The books are arranged by genre and marked by large blue signs. Bibliophiles can find everything from crime thrillers to cookbooks, religious texts to romance, and westerns to works of history.
“Newcomers to the sale often tell me they are surprised by the quality and sheer volume of the available books,” Clopton said.
At times, the basement can become crowded, Clopton said. “But I’ve noticed that book lovers are always considerate of other book lovers and everyone is friendly,” she said.
Jennifer Love will be among that crowd. She is a longtime supporter of the library and has been a regular at the book sale for about 20 years. Her advice? Have a strategy for where to start, go slowly, be respectful of other shoppers, and have fun.
“I always encourage people to go to the sale,” Love said. “Everyone can probably find something they want to read.”
This weekend, patrons can purchase a bag of books for $5; on Sunday afternoon, the cost is $5 per bag. Individuals with reusable bags can get a 50-cent discount on Friday and Saturday.
The affordability of the books has been a significant reason many people attend, including Tom and Kay, who travel to Amarillo from out-of-state for the sale and said they always find a treasure or two. They said the prices are exceptional, and attendees might find a newly released novel for a fraction of the cost.
The couple, who asked that only their first names be used, discovered the sale during the coronavirus pandemic, when the library hosted the sale virtually. Now they make the trip to Amarillo for the sale as often as possible, saying it is a fantastic way to recycle books and put them in the hands of so many avid readers, while also raising money for library programs.
The book sale is open to the public. Friday’s hours (6:30-9 p.m.) are reserved for people who have memberships as Friends of the Amarillo Public Library. Annual memberships cost $10 per person or $25 per household.
The book sale dates back to at least 1959, Clopton said, on the lawn of the then-Mary E. Bivins Memorial Library. Funds were used to convert area newspapers to microfilm.
Today, proceeds from the book sale — which total from $12,000 to $15,000 each year — support a variety of projects.
The Friends have provided funding for murals on the outside of the library’s downtown branch; the costume for the library’s Fable the Library Dragon mascot; story time rugs; and other equipment and curriculum. “The Friends help provide education and enrichment to the community at no charge,” Clopton said.
The value of maintaining a robust public library is one of the many reasons the book sale fundraiser matters.
“There’s something wonderful and comforting about our library,” Love said. “There’s always something to do; we enjoy everything about that place.”
Friends of the Amarillo Public Library Book Sale
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Friends of the Amarillo Public Library’s sale draws book-lovers galore
Reporting by By Brad Newman, Special to the Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
