Dallas Public Library ready for book sale

Friends of the Dallas Public Library (FODPL) is organizing and hosting the winter edition of the twice-yearly sale on Saturday, January 27, and Sunday, January 28, at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in downtown Dallas.

Thousands of books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl albums will be sold at bargain prices. All proceeds benefit the 29-branch library system and its programs.

June Leftwich, a longtime library staff member and former FODPL president, is the honorary chair of the sale. She will be honored at a reception on Friday, January 26, when FODPL members get first access to the sale items.

“I think a book sale at the library just has a nice ring to it,” said Ms. Leftwich, who organized book sales many years ago in Dallas’ Historic West End and the Dallas Convention Center. “People come in, and they’re happy to find something they might not have expected.”

Ms. Leftwich also helped establish the Bookends store at the downtown library, where for many years items removed from the library collection were sold. Bookends closed in 2016, resulting in the big book sales twice each year.

The public sale will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. But the treasure hunt starts early for FODPL members, who can scout out the bargains before anyone else on Friday night from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“It’s a great perk for belonging to a great organization,” Wilonsky said. “And you can join that night at the door.”