The motherlode

AAUW's book sale to feature quarter-million publications

By R. Overdorff

- For the CDT

One of life’s most enjoyable and inexpensive escapes is sneaking away to a tropical island. Of course, saddling up and heading off into the sunset is also an option.

Craig Houtz

Evan Orner browses through children's books at the 46th annual AAUW used book sale at Penn State's Ag Arena. The AAUW says children's books, cookbooks and collectors' books are the annual best-sellers.

Matter of fact, so are thousands of other locations around the globe, and beyond. And it all starts with a book. Or a quarter of a million of them.

Escaping into a book is not just for kids; books offer everyone an opportunity to learn about history or nature, or read about a passionate romance with a soldier headed off to the Revolutionary War. Books teach us about life, the world and ourselves.

This weekend, book lovers from the area and across the East Coast will have the opportunity to bulk up on books with the 47th annual State College American Association of University Women’s used book sale. The sale features almost 250,000 books, all individually priced.

“For anyone that loves to read, they will be amazed at the wide selection of books we have for the sale,” sale co-chairwoman Suzanne Kerlin said. “People tell us what they like most about the sale is the books are clean. Throughout the year, we have volunteers sort the books and remove any that are damaged or outdated.”

Held at the Penn State’s Snider Ag Arena, last year’s sale attracted more than 9,000 readers and book dealers from as far away as Georgia, Maine, Iowa, New York, Maryland, Ohio and throughout the Keystone State, making it one of the largest, four-day used book sales on the East Coast. And it all would not be possible without the help of dedicated volunteers who work throughout the year.

On average, 50 volunteers gather to sort, price and inspect books and to make sure each book meets the sale’s high standards.

Then, approximately 300 volunteers help transform the Ag Arena into an oasis of books featuring everything from the “Good Book” to cookbooks.

“The volunteers are kept busy when the sale starts,” Kerlin said. “We have people helping out by answering questions the public might have, volunteers waiting on people and getting everything ready and setting up all the tables. It is a lot of work for everyone involved.”

A few of the more than 25 categories offered at the sale include fiction, history, romance, science fiction, art, biography, health, business, sports and children’s books.

The majority of proceeds from the sale stay in the area and are used to support the numerous grants and graduate fellowships for women.

Unlike some used book sales, a few items you won’t find at this weekend’s sale include encyclopedias, text books published before 1990, outdated computer books and books that were highlighted or are in poor condition. Books are collected from donation bins throughout the year for the sale.

There are several reasons the sale has become such a success each year. Those include the large volume of books, the public’s support of the sale and the hard work of volunteers. These all make it a best-seller.

“The Ag Arena is a huge space, and when people walk into it and see all the books and how the books are all arranged and how many volunteers we have working the sale, they are just amazed,” Kerlin said. “It is hard to find used book sales this large and with this large a selection.”

The 47th annual AAUW used book sale will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday to Tuesday at the Snider Ag Arena, University Park. Visit www.aauwstatecollege.org for more information.