Bloomfield Township Library Book Sale Nets Big Results

The Friends of the raised nearly $10,000 during its Big Book Sale this month, officials said.

During the two-day sale Nov. 12-13, roughly 24,000 gently used and nearly new books were sold to hundreds of patrons. That netted the group $9,976.50, said Allen Carlson, chairman of the event. Library Director Karen Kotulis-Carter said the amount exceeded the total from last year's fall sale and nearly tripled what is raised during the monthly Super Second Saturday book sales.

The benefit is twofold, Kotulis-Carter said. "There was a great response, which was fantastic because we were able to find a good home for books we don't need," she said, and proceeds will be used for library programming and materials.

The library offered 1,182 boxes of carefully selected, gently used items, which amounted to roughly 41,000 books. In all, 696 boxes were sold, and another 17,000 books were donated to Focus Hope in Detroit. 

The final day was Bag Day, during which patrons could stuff a Kroger or Plum Market shopping bag for only $5. Some shoppers walked out with dozens of bags that filled entire cars, Kotulis-Carter said.

"It was so wonderful to see people find these joys and treasures in this huge collection," Kotulis-Carter said. "It was really a fun effort."

Patrons also seemed to appreciate the variety of books available.

"We had wonderful comments from dealers, collectors and avid readers, all of whom were pleased with our selection in dozens of categories," Carlson said.

The most popular categories were nearly sold out, said volunteer Sandy Lada.  Children's books, which were the most popular, were completely sold out by the end of the sale. Other popular items were: trade paperback fiction; literature/classics/biography; history; art/photography; gardening; and cookbooks.

Missed the sale? Not to fret, the next Super Saturday Sale start at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 10, and the Friends have already scheduled next year's fall sale for Oct. 13-14.