By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Thousands of donated books sit in a fourth-floor storage room at the Princeton Public Library, their last stop before they find their way into the hands of new owners.
Some 10,000 books will go on sale starting Friday, the first day of a three-day book sale that the nonprofit Friends of the Princeton Public Library has been having for years. Organizers at the all-volunteer organization hope to raise $30,000, to support the programming at and the collections of the library.
"We’re in Princeton, so we have fabulous books," said Friends president Sherri Garber last week. "We have really good quality books, which is the advantage of being in Princeton."
Among the notables up for sale include some of the collection of retired Princeton University art professor John Wilmerding.
In comparison, the Friends sale is smaller, in terms of sheer volume of books sold, than the annual Bryn Mawr-Wellesley book sale at Princeton Day School. But it is expected to draw a few thousand people during the course of the three days. Book dealers arrive from as far as New England and Virginia to attend the preview sale on Friday, Ms. Garber said.
Ms. Garber said the sale was started around 20 years ago by Barbara Freedman, a past president of the Friends, and Stuart Mitchner, an editor at Town Topics.
"It was very, very small, and it’s grown just tremendously. Last year, we grossed $35,000, which is a lot of books," said Ms. Garber, a former vice president at Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.
This is the first of two fundraisers the Friends is throwing in the span of a few weeks. The annual library gala, already sold out, is Nov.1 on the Princeton University campus.
The sale begins with the preview from 10 a.m. to noon Friday. Admission is $10 for the public and free for a member of the Friends. After the preview ends, there is no charge to get in as the sale goes until 8:30 p.m.
For the weekend, the sale goes from 10 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
