‘It’s a treasure hunt.’ 10 questions with the AAUW Used Book Sale’s co-chair

The American Association of University Women State College Used Book Sale has arrived, and while the event has grown into a widely-attended one over the years, there are some things you might not know about the sale.

AAUW has hosted the sale every May since 1962, and this year it’s being held from Saturday to Tuesday at Penn State’s Snider Agricultural Arena, 800 E. Park Ave. There, thousands of gently used books will be for sale at highly-discounted prices, and the sale will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m Saturday through Monday, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

On Monday, all books will be half off, and Tuesday is “bag day,” which means that event-goers can walk out with a bag of books for just $10 — as long as you bring your own reusable bag.

The Centre Daily Times recently spoke with book sale co-chair Mary Ann Blair about the event. We asked her 10 questions about what people can expect this year, what happens to the proceeds from the sale, and more. Below are her answers, which have been edited for length and clarity.

Centre Daily Times: What can people expect to find at the AAUW Used Book Sale, for those who have never been before?

Mary Ann Blair: If you’ve never been here, it’s the sheer scale of the ... size of the sale — I think that’s what hits me most, and what hits new people the most too. You’ve been to garage sales, you’ve been to used bookstores, but you walk into an arena that size you know, with 50 tables and every subject imaginable. So my sense is it can be a little overwhelming, but we hope it’s awe-inspiring too.

CDT: How much effort goes into making an event like this possible?

Blair: It takes all year to make this event happen. We start collecting books in July and quit taking them in March ... during that time, we collect the books, we sort and curate them, we price them and then we box them for the sale. It takes an army of volunteers, quite frankly, and they do it all year, through that whole period. The evening of the move in is truly its own event, and then think about all the people who work the sale too — it’s truly, truly a year-long effort. There are maybe 30 to 40 volunteers throughout the whole year.

CDT: What’s new with this year’s book sale?

Blair: We’re plugging some more vintage science fiction and fantasy paperback in this year. If you’re a fan, we’ll have it in two places — some is out on the main floor, but our volunteer who works with this [genre] also put together collections that are in the special collection room. We are offering nine bundles of vintage paperbacks such as Deep Space Nine, Conan, original Star Trek books.

CDT: Have you noticed any genre of book being sold more than others in recent years, or does it vary from year to year?

Blair: That’s a tough question because it does vary, although I will put a plug in — this year we received a really large collection of gardening books. Someone actually bequeathed it to us in their will, and she collected them, so they’re of high quality. There’s a big range, and you can find them in the hobby section, but overall it does vary. A lot of it really just depends on what comes in the door.

CDT: What are some of the more unique or rare books that you’ve found over the years?

Blair: We have a team of people who curate and price what we call special collections, and they said that identifying a book as special means it’s rare, unique, fragile or generally of greater value. What they’ve said is a good example this year is that we have a first edition of “Peyton Place,” which was pretty scandalous in the 1950s. We also have an 1852 edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Blithedale Romance.”

I’m always struck because we get a lot of new stuff too. We’ll have 2025 books in there, and we might even have some 2026 books, because some people just buy a book, read it and donate it. It’s fascinating to see what comes in.

CDT: Have you noticed a decline in event attendees over the years since the rise of e-readers, like the Kindle?

Blair: I am very pleased to report that attendance has actually increased. In 2022, we had about 5,900 attending, and last year we had over 7,800. This is going to be an interesting year to see — we’ve had some very positive trends or numbers in the past four years and we’re very curious to see what this year will do.

CDT: What happens to the books that don’t get purchased at the end of the sale?

Blair: We’re really fortunate, because we partner with some local nonprofits and other community organizations who will take them at the end of the sale, and then whatever books are left, we recycle. We start fresh every year. We’ve been asked if we take the books back, and you know, if they didn’t sell in those four days, they’re not going to sell. But with that question, looking at our numbers, we’ve done well with most of our inventory selling.

CDT: Do you count how many books will for sale at each year’s event? If so, how many will be at this year’s sale?

Blair: We could never put a number on it, but I think the number we have used in the past is around 150,000 books. Ideally though, I would say it’s impossible to count. What I can tell you is we have 4,200 boxes of books, we do track that. For example though, with a box of children’s books, those little picture books and chapter books and all that — how many are in that box, who knows? Or a box of hardcover mysteries, who knows? We’re conservative with the estimation, but if you have to put a number, around 150,000, although we’re much more comfortable with it being impossible to count.

CDT: What happens to the proceeds from the sale?

Blair: First we cover the cost of the sale — this event does not happen for free. The proceeds then support the mission of the AAUW State College, and that is advancing equity for women and girls. So that money specifically goes to community grants and educational opportunities like stem camps, promoting equity. The organization is really identified with the sale, but really, the sale is to promote the mission. We are very fortunate that 60+ years ago, someone came up with the idea for this little fundraiser, and now it’s become this big event — although it’s all to support the organization. We certainly to use it as a way to spread the message, and let people know that the AAUW is more than a book sale.

CDT: Why would you recommend that someone attend the book sale?

Blair: Because this sort of event is unique in today’s digital world. You have to hunt and browse those tables and titles — no search engines — and when you find something that you didn’t even know that you might want or be interested in, that’s a unique and individual experience.

I talked to another co-chair, and she had what I thought was a wonderful comment. She said that you’re outside [the event], people are excited and everybody’s chatting. She noticed though that on the floor there, maybe not Saturday morning but on other days, it gets quiet. It’s a big space, and there’ll be a lot of people, but there’s like this moment when you’re with people, but you’re also just with the books — it’s fascinating. People aren’t on a screen, they’re just touching the books, picking them up, reading inside of them. It’s a treasure hunt, and you find things you didn’t even know that you were looking for.

For more information about the book fair, visit its website at www.aauwstatecollege.org/used-book-sale or its Facebook page.