Lohmann: Richmond Public Library sale draws diehard book people

The scene at the main branch of the Richmond Public Library -- or any library, for that matter -- doesn't usually inspire a comparison to the running of the bulls.

But the frenzy surrounding the Friends of the Richmond Public Library Book Sale, where more than 30,000 used and donated books go on sale today for as little as 50 cents apiece, apparently motivates some people -- if ever so briefly -- to take leave of their senses.

"The last couple of sales when we get here to open the doors, people have been lined up . . . from here, down the hallway, up the stairs, through the front door and out the building," said Ellen Brown, chairman of the book sale, as we stood on the mezzanine level of the library where she and other volunteers were organizing and shelving books to be sold.

That's when she started talking about the bulls and Pamplona.

"A lot of the really die-hard book people come here with bags, suitcases and rolling carts," Brown said. "They stake out a spot and just start hoarding books. It's unbelievable."

But it's fun, and it raises money for the library.

The sale begins today at the library, 101 E. Franklin St., and continues tomorrow and Monday.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Friends, a group that sponsors events, librarian training and after-school tutoring programs -- just about anything the library budget can't cover. The money comes primarily from its two book sales each year; the fall one has always been the major event, although the spring one is gaining ground.

The fall sale typically nets about $15,000, Brown said.

That's a lot of cheap books: children's books are 50 cents apiece, paperbacks 75 cents or less, hardbacks $1 and $2. Some of the books are library discards, but most are donated from people clearing off their shelves.

Volunteers led by Ann Browning, a former librarian who half-jokingly has been nicknamed the "Czarina of Shelving," have worked for months organizing the hardbacks in categories so the experience will be much like shopping in a bookstore or browsing in a library. (Paperbacks aren't organized beyond being stashed in open boxes.)

Despite the relative orderliness, attending the sale is very much "a treasure hunt," as Brown called it. You never know what you'll find.

Because relatively few volunteers must sort through thousands of books, there's always a chance a rare gem or three might slip through, and a book of some value can be had for a dollar or two.

Rare gems caught ahead of time can be found among the higher-priced "special collection" books on a lower level of the library dubbed "the dungeon." But the prices are still right. Example: a set of Carl Sandburg's six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln has a $100 price tag, about one-third of what you'd pay an online dealer, Brown says.

But the sale is not only about good deals and raising money. It's also about community, attracting shoppers in business suits and those who are homeless debating whether to buy another book or save the money for bus fare.

"We've had West End moms looking for gardening books standing in line next to a woman who had three dollars to buy children's books for a woman in her church who could not afford to buy books for her children," Brown said. "It is not uncommon for one customer to pay extra to cover the cost of books for others standing in line."

Brown said she's not the emotional type, but that she has shed a tear on more than one occasion at such kindness, part of the joy of "seeing what happens when people come together over books."

Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or . Follow him at http:// twitter.com/wlohmann.

Friends of the Richmond Public Library Book Sale

Where: Main library, 101 E. Franklin St.

When: Today, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (members of Friends only; memberships available for $15); public sale, 1-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.; tomorrow, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Monday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

What: Hardbacks $1 and $2, paperbacks 75 cents and less, children's books 50 cents, CDs $1, LP records 25 cents, sheet music 25 cents a sheet. Prices not negotiable.