About | Become a Friend | Book Sales | Donations | History | Board Meetings

Friends Bookstore Hours Calendar

About the Friends of the Library
The Friends of the Library are an active and caring group of volunteers dedicated to supporting and promoting the library. The Friends hold weekly book sales on Saturdays (and also during the week) to raise funds and provide an opportunity for interested people to volunteer their time and expertise and meet other Friends.

To find out if the bookstore is open during the week, please call 944-0625, or just stop by when visiting the library.

The Friends also have periodic bag sales. Look for more info on the Friends’ bulletin board by the bookstore.

Projects the Friends have supported include:

• The Summer Reading Programs for children, teens and adults
• The Books For Babies program
• Purchasing the three bronze statues at the library in partnership with the Schrandt Endowment Fund
• Purchasing artwork, signs, and other special items for the library
• The recent renovation and expansion of the library
• Funding Chapter-a-Day Online Book Clubs
• The new reading and/or event patio

Join the Friends
Become a Friend of the Library! The Friends always welcome new members, and your membership will mean a lot to the Saline District Library. The best way to begin is to volunteer to work in the Bookstore. There is a variety of tasks associated with the sales, including weekly sorting, setting up, publicity, and other tasks. Please pick up a volunteer form at the table outside the Friends Bookstore if you are interested. This is a great way to get involved in a worthwhile event and meet some of the best people around at the same time.

Book Sales
Book sales are held every Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm in the Bookstore. See our Bookstore Hours calendar. Book sales benefit the community by enabling the public to buy a wide variety of books at very low prices, recycling donated items through the community, and providing a steady income which is used to enhance the library’s services and materials.

Hardcover books and large-sized paperback fiction cost $1. All other adult paperbacks are 50 cents. Children and teen books are 25 cents for paperbacks and 50 cents for hardcover. Other items are also reasonably priced.

Bag sales are held on the second Saturday of the month from 10 am - 2 pm in the Brecon Room. Fill a bag for $5 and the second bag is free.

Donations
Donations to the book sales are always welcome. Bring your books, videos (VHS and DVD), books on tape or CD, computer software, music CDs, and puzzles to the library during open hours. We don't accept records, magazines, or music audio cassettes. Please only donate items in good condition that you yourself would purchase.

Donations to the Friends are tax deductible; receipts are available on the donation table. You’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that your donations will be put to good use.

History of the Friends
The Friends have been a valuable resource to the community for over 40 years. In 1968-69, 79 charter members established the non-profit Friends of the Library organization and initiated the used book sales. Once or twice a year donated books were displayed and put up for sale.

When the new library opened in 1994, the Friends decided to schedule book sales at regular intervals to save on storage space, help move inventory, and encourage the public to get in the book-buying habit. In April, 1995, Earl and Edna Laughrey, Friends members and co-chairs of the Used Book Sale Committee, launched the monthly book sale.

With the expansion of the Library in 2008, a bookstore was added. It is open every Saturday and frequently during the week.

The book sales have always been the major fund-raising event for the group’s programs. Although the Friends also sell imprinted mugs, T-shirts, and book bags, the book sales generate the majority of the funds. Proceeds from the book sales have been used to sponsor programs which encourage reading and literacy, purchase special items for the library, and other exciting projects.

Board Members and Meetings
The Friends Board Meeting is held the first Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm in the Brecon Room at the Saline District Library. Everyone is welcome to attend.