‘So many unexpected treasures.’ Setup begins for AAUW Used Book Sale

With the advent of e-readers and the ability to access books instantly with a few clicks, one might assume that physical books are slowly becoming things of the past, historical relics like cassette tapes or even CDs.

But physical book sales are up. In October, book sales were at $699 million, a $50 million year-over-year increase, according to Publishers Weekly. And if you’ve been to the AAUW State College Used Book Sale, where hundreds of people flood into the Snider Ag Arena throughout the course of several days each May, you’ve seen firsthand the demand for hardcover and paperback books.

The massive annual book sale returns this weekend, bringing hundreds of thousands of books to Centre County residents from Saturday-Tuesday.

Connie Schroeder, one of the event’s organizers, said that the AAUW will bring 4,257 boxes of books to the Snider Ag Arena this year, and nearly all of those will be gone by Tuesday. The sale includes a children’s section that’s bigger than ever before; a large selection of games and puzzles; and a biography section that’s 50% larger than years previous. The special collections section includes rare finds, such as a 100-year-old issue of Country Life Magazine and a limited numbered and autographed edition of W.E.B. Du Bois’ “The Souls of Black Folk.”

Some of the donors who bring their books to the AAUW over the donation collection period during the year leading up to the sale do say that they’ve “shifted over to e-books now and I’m making space in my house and you’re getting the results of this and good luck selling them,” Schroeder said.

But Schroeder said there’s no question as to the popularity of physical books when she sees the shoppers at the sale each year. That’s particularly the case in the children’s section, which accounts for 10 percent, at more than 25,000 books, of the sale’s inventory.

Last year, the AAUW raised $146,600 from the sale, with proceeds going toward scholarships for returning adult women students and grants for community projects and programs related to AAUW’s female equity-centric mission.

If you’re thinking of attending, Schroeder has a few tips for the sale. Firstly, bring a cloth or recyclable grocery bag for carrying your haul, maybe even more than one.

“Most people find more books than they plan on buying,” she said.

If you want to avoid the shopping crowds, skip Saturday morning, when several hundred people line up to pick over the selection when the doors first open. Instead, Sunday afternoon often provides a leisurely shopping experience, and the selection is strong all through the weekend, with perhaps a few exceptions.

Strollers are allowed in the arena, though the smaller, the better. Parking is free and located behind and beside the arena, with overflow parking directly across the street.

Schroeder also says to come to the sale with “an open mind that can take you beyond the books on your list.”

“There are so many unexpected treasures there that it would be a shame to miss out on them because they weren’t on your list,” she said.

The AAUW State College Used Book Sale is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday-Tuesday. Monday is half-price day and Tuesday is Bag Day — $7 for all the books you can fit into a cloth grocery bag.

Visit http://www.aauwstatecollege.org for more information.

This story was originally published May 9, 2019 at 6:51 PM.