Friends of the Bloomfield Township Public Library volunteer Bob Schnorbus assists at a previous book sale.
By: Mary Beth Almond | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published May 10, 2023
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — With summer just around the corner, the Friends of the Bloomfield Township Public Library group is giving the public the chance to purchase some educational entertainment, all while supporting the library.
The Friends group is gearing up for its next Second Saturday Book Sale, which is open to the public and will be held 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. May 13 in the lower level of the library.
Friends members may shop the sale early, 10-11 a.m., and memberships can be purchased at the door on the day of the sale.
May’s Second Saturday Book Sale will have around 10,000 books, including a large supply on the topics of golf, as well as vegan and vegetarian cookbooks. The books typically range in cost from 15 cents to $5. Many DVDs, CDs, books on CD and games are also available.
“Our books are all generally very gently used and donated mostly by patrons of Bloomfield Township, but we do get donated books that come from quite a ways away, like Farmington, West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor,” said Friends board member and book sale manager Kim Hoke.
The library welcomes donations of gently used books, CDs, DVDs, games and puzzles to the Friends of the Library. Magazines, condensed books, VHS and cassette tapes, vinyl records, and encyclopedias are not accepted. Donations are tax-deductible.
“When people are cleaning out their bookshelves, their homes as they prepare to move, or just doing a little spring cleaning, books are such a sentimental item, and people don’t want to toss them in the trash. These books can still have a second life with a new reader, and the library is a great central hub for people to drop off those books, DVDs and other materials,” library Assistant Director Katherine Bryant said. “It also keeps stuff out of the landfill and it gives people the chance to read or buy something they maybe wouldn’t buy brand-new, so it’s really a nice way that people can give away their treasured books that they have already loved and give those for somebody else to love.”
The library’s book donation room is open the same hours as the library and is located on the west side of the building, just a short walk down the sidewalk to the staff and delivery entrances. Five-minute parking is permitted in the delivery zone, and carts are available in the donation room to help transport items. To receive an acknowledgment of a donation, complete a donor receipt card, self-address it, and leave it in the box provided in the donation room. For more information on how to donate, go to the library’s donation page.
Proceeds from all Super Saturday Book Sales go to the Friends group — the library’s primary volunteer support group — which Bryant said funds many library programs, events and services that aren’t included in the library’s regular budget. The Friends group also runs The Library Shop and donates the proceeds to the library.
“The Friends give us funding for our Battle of the Books, for outreach activities and giveaways, our chamber music concerts, and all sorts of other amazing things that we wouldn’t be able to do without that support, so when people come to the library and buy a couple of $1-$2 books, they are contributing to something much greater than maybe they even realize,” Bryant said.
Hoke said the Friends’ used book sales, held monthly, bring in between $5,500 and $5,800 per sale. Since 1975, she said, the Friends group has given the library approximately $1.75 million.
Additional upcoming Second Saturday Book Sales will be held June 10, July 8 and Aug. 12 at the library. For more information on the sales or membership in the Friends group, call the Bloomfield Township Public Library at (248) 642-5800 or visit www.btpl.org and click on the Friends tab.