A small glimpse of the numerous fiction books available at the sale. Photo by Olivia Anello/The Connection
Early on Saturday morning, book lovers of all ages lined up outside the Great Falls Library for the biannual Friends of the Great Falls Library Book Sale. Inside, hundreds of books of all genres lined the tables and shelves. Separating each area were signs indicating the genre of books on the table. The selection of classics was immense, such as “Wuthering Heights,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “The Arabian Nights,” and old edition Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy books. Also offered was an extensive collection of books on science, food, travel, fiction and nonfiction, as well as many young adult and children’s books and series.
The sale was in great attendance, as Lynn Mobley, President of the Friends of the Great Falls Library, shared that “with our 10 a.m. start time, there were 25 guests who visited and made purchases before 10:15 a.m.” A two-day event with a private pre-sale, a steady stream of individuals circulated the library over the weekend. The presale was open to members of Friends of the Great Falls Library and book vendors. On the first day of the public sale, guests could wander the shelves for reasonably priced reading material, audio books being the most expensive at only $3. On the second day of the public sale, guests were allowed to fill a bag of books for $5.
Each book in the sale was donated by the community of Great Falls, many of which were brand new or very gently used. Mobley admired how “people collect interesting things and we get to have such a diverse collection of books because of the generosity of people’s interests.”
A voracious reader herself, Mobley hopes that “some of these books wind up as presents for the holidays. Many are in new enough condition to be given as gifts.”
The Friends of the Great Falls Library Book Sale raises money to fund library programming for children and adults, as well as landscaping not covered by the library’s normal operating budget from Fairfax County. “We’ll have all these books purchased by Saturday, and we’ll start collecting again on Monday morning to stock up for the sale in May,” Mobley said. The Library is currently accepting donations for the Spring 2020 Book Sale, happening on May 8 and 9. Donations such as books, audio books, magazines, DVD’s, vinyl records, and more can be made at the Great Falls Library.