Arts & Entertainment
Book Sale Day Two: A Flurry of Bags, Buyers, and Books
After two days and hundreds of man-hours in preparation, the Friends of the Cupertino Library completed the first of three weekend book sales this year.
More than half an hour before the noon opening of the second and final day of the Friends of the Cupertino Library Book Sale at Community Hall, patrons began lining up in the courtyard.
The three-hour window to purchase remaining books also carried an option where buyers could buy a grocery bag for $3 and fill it with as many books as they could fit.
"They supply us, and then we get to supply them," Jean Gallup, book sale co-chairwoman and 20-year Friends' member, said of residents who donate books.
Find out what's happening in Cupertinowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Rows upon rows of mysteries, classics, textbooks, cookbooks, audio books, humor, religion and history books filled the room. As the doors opened, the queue backed up and stretched around the entrance to the library.
In one corner of the book sale, a special area called the Select Room was reserved for non-baggable books.
Find out what's happening in Cupertinowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"There's no writing in them, and no pages have been torn," says Sherry Merrill, a volunteer since 2004 who stood at the entrance to make sure no baggers got carried away and didn't see the signs. The prices for these "select books" were only slightly more expensive than the rest, ranging from 25 cents to a few dollars.
"All these books that have been donated have to be sorted and grouped by subject," says Merrill. This is where the Friends of the Cupertino Library face their longest hours, she says. "The boxes of books in our part of the library have been stacked up to the ceiling."
Gladys Maiden, the other book sale co-chairwoman, has been a volunteer with the Friends for more than two decades as well.
"Yesterday when I arrived," she says, "the line was all the way down to Coffee Society."
Stacks of folded-up cardboard boxes grew larger on the stage as shoppers ate away at tables piled with educational and leisure reads. Just 20 minutes in, several patrons had more than one sack full.
At the one-hour mark, some tables were near empty.
"We're blessed to be in a community that is highly educated and loves books," says Gallup, moving more empty boxes to the side and directing a group of younger volunteers.
The next official weekend Community Used Book Sale is May 14-15, but there is a year-round book sale in the lobby of the Cupertino Library.
