The Marshalltown Public Library Friends of the Library book sale was bound to happen. The annual event begins Friday, ends Monday and brings an estimated 5,000 to 7,500 books, DVDs, CDs, records, puzzles and games for sale.
“The Friends of the Library are hoping to raise around $3,000,” said Librarian Katie Fink.
Last year’s sale attracted hundreds of book lovers and raised roughly $3,500.
The event begins Friday night and is reserved for Friends of the Library members who get to participate in the preview sale.
“Those who have paid their 2026 Friends of the Library member dues are able to come in and purchase items before the general public,” she said. “If you aren’t a Friends member and want to get first crack at items for sale, you can join the Friends for $10 the night of the sale.”
The $1 per bag sale will be held Sunday.
“People can get an entire grocery sack full of books, movies, puzzles, games or music for just $1,” Fink said.
On Monday, people can gain admission for $1 and take whatever is left.
This year a new rule has been put in place where book sellers who want to use scanners to check pricing on resale sites will have to pay a $20 fee – using cash, check or credit card – on the Friends preview night. Fink said they are able to use scanners freely on other days.
“We do have quite a few vintage books available for purchase in the sale,” she said. “We don’t price things out before the sale, so you may find that one treasure or rare book that you’ve always been looking for.”
The money raised by the Friends of the Library sale will help purchase materials, including the majority of the budget to buy ebooks and downloadable audiobooks.
“They [also] provide funds to pay for events at the library, like author visits, craft programs, animal programs for kids and adults and they provide funding for special projects like the interior renovation project that was just completed at the library that constructed six new meeting spaces within the existing footprint of the library,” Fink said.
The renovation is great for the community, she added, because it provides more free meeting spaces for nonprofits and groups while lowering costs for the library since the new lighting and HVAC systems made the building more efficient.
“We’re really grateful to the Friends for their efforts to make our facility a more useful and efficient space for our community,” she said.
The next project which Fink said is near and dear to their hearts is a memorial to coworker Teresa Hannam who died in 2021.
“We received some memorial funds in her name,” she said. “We are going to be adding some flower playground musical instruments and an Eric Carle butterfly bench to the west lawn of the library building, as well as some hardscaping around these items.”
Fink hopes community members will attend and support the Friends of the Library sale to help provide materials, programs and more.
SALE INFO
What: Friends of the Library book sale
Location: Marshalltown Public Library
Address: 105 W. Boone St.
Hours: Friday, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.