A traditional State College event makes its return. What to know about the AAUW Used Book Sale

Each year, the State College branch of The American Association of University Women (AAUW) hosts its premier fundraising event, the AAUW State College Used Book Sale. One of the largest used book sales in the country, the sale is often a much-awaited community event, drawing avid readers from around the region for four days of shopping and browsing through hundreds of thousands of used books.

But the COVID-19 pandemic put this favorited springtime event on hiatus for 2020 and much of 2021, until the fall of 2021, when a smaller sale took place at Penn State’s Snider Agricultural Arena. This weekend, the event is back for its 60th year — on its traditional spring dates — and organizers and volunteers are excited to get back to normal.

Dina Liberatore, sale chair, said that this month’s sale will feature about the same number of books offered in the October sale.

“(That was) less than we had in 2019, but overall still a ton of books in excellent quality and everyone still left happy,” she said.

October’s sale generated approximately $120,000 and Liberatore noted it drew fewer shoppers overall, about 5,000, but the sale sold more books per shopper. The organization anticipates this month’s sale will generate about the same amount.

If you put the two sales together, AAUW State College Co-President Sally Kalin said, there were more books than the organization usually has in a year.

“One thing we discovered is that a lot of people bought books when they were sequestered in their homes and now we’re the recipients of those good books,” she said.

This sale, which starts Saturday, will be comparable to the experience shoppers have enjoyed in past years. In terms of the books on offer, shoppers can expect a large number of collectible books; author-signed copies (an insider tip is to look for neon bookmarks at the sale, identifying a signed copy); and more recently-published books than normal, including books published in 2021 and 2022. Collectors will find a treasure trove of books at attractive prices in the sale’s special collections room; a list of noteworthy items is available on the AAUW State College website.

Kalin advised that Saturday morning, when the doors at the Agricultural Arena open at 9 a.m., is typically one of the sale’s busiest times. Monday and Tuesday evenings are also popular, as Monday is the sale’s half-price day and, on Tuesday, shoppers can fill a bag of books for $8 per bag.

“I often tell people who aren’t familiar with the sale that Sunday morning at nine o’clock is one of the best times in the entire week of the entire sale to come, because it’s not crowded and everything’s been straightened up — all the books are off the floor, things are in the right categories,” she said. “If you’re a serious shopper, it’s a good time to come. Granted, we sell most books the first day and you might not get first choice, but it’s a much more relaxing experience.”

Liberatore added: “If you like the hustle and bustle of Saturday and like getting first dibs on the books, that’s great. Sunday is a little bit ... quieter and relaxed, but you’ll still find plenty of great deals. You could come Tuesday evening and still find a ton of great books that are left over. I don’t think there’s a wrong time to come to the sale. It’s just really a matter of your convenience.”

Beyond books, the sale also offers games, puzzles, sheet music and DVDs.

This year, food trucks will also be attending the sale to feed the droves of hungry shoppers. Happy Dishes will be at the sale on Saturday and Sunday, while Brazilian Munchies will be there all four days.

After the sale concludes, community organizations, such as Centre Crest and the Mid-State Literacy Council, have been invited to retrieve leftover books for their respective uses. Proceeds from the sale support AAUW initiatives that benefit education for women and girls, including scholarships and STEM programming.

All books for the AAUW State College Used Book Sale are donated throughout the preceding year. The donation window for the 2023 sale opens June 14 at AAUW’s Used Book Workshop, 2197 High Tech Road, State College.

Doors open at 9 a.m. each day of the sale, which runs from Saturday through Tuesday. More information about the sale, AAUW State College, donations and volunteer opportunities can be found at aauwstatecollege.org/used_book_sale_centre_county/.

This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 6:00 AM.