New location for Friends of the Library book sale

The annual Friends of the Library book sale has a new face this year as it will be held for the first time at its new location at 503 W. Adams St.

In previous years, books were being stored at the Fredricksen Memorials building and being moved to the Pantry Events Center for the sale.

“After Fredricksen’s got sold, we had nowhere to store the books,” Friends of the Library member Kat Seaton said. “We immediately tried to find a place to permanently store and have the book sale so we wouldn’t have to go back and forth every year. "

With the Creston News Advertiser having removed the printing press, a large space in the back of the building was up for grabs.

“The Friends of the Library board came to me and asked if they could use our extra area in the back where the press used to be,” Creston Publishing Company General Manager Craig Mittag said. “I thought it was a great partnership, and we wanted to do whatever we could to help the library. I’m glad we could help.”

The book sale will be held Thursday and Friday  10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

With an array of shelves, the books are able to be categorized more efficiently than in previous sales. There’s also more space for the many donations they’ve received.

“We can make sure everything is concentrated and it flows,” Seaton said. “We just got a brand new young adult section that is extensive. It has two shelves by itself.”

The new location also means the books won’t only be available once a year.

“People can come in during [CNA] business hours,” Seaton said. “We have a box for free will donations.”

Guests are asked to use the CNA side entrance on Division Street rather than the front entrance on W. Adams Street.

There’s no specific cost for books, free-will donation being the way the sale earns money.

“It helps with sponsoring activities for the library,” Seaton explained. “We sponsored the pavillion being built. All the children’s activities for the summer were sponsored by the Friends of the Library. We also have a scholastic book fair, we have a cookie sale. It all goes toward donating funds back to the library.”

There are a wide selection of books along with puzzles, audio books and movies.

Book genres at the sale include: children’s, young adult, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, mystery, thriller, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, biographies/memoirs, various non-fiction and a large supply of mass-market paperback romance.

With popular titles like “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens, “Divergent” by Veronica Roth and “The Book of Two Ways” by Jodi Piccoult, the sale is sure to have something for everyone.