Early bird gets the bookworm at annual sale

Ashley Stiefermann, left, Nikki Bateman and Lisa Otto, all Missouri River Regional Library employees, move boxes of books for the annual sale that begins Wednesday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in St. Martins. More than 3,300 boxes of books will be delivered to the hall to be displayed for the public to purchase. Buyers from several states will be on hand to refill their stock and to look for that niche or unique book to put in their shop. The sale runs through Saturday.
Ashley Stiefermann, left, Nikki Bateman and Lisa Otto, all Missouri River Regional Library employees, move boxes of books for the annual sale that begins Wednesday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in St. Martins. More than 3,300 boxes of books will be delivered to the hall to be displayed for the public to purchase. Buyers from several states will be on hand to refill their stock and to look for that niche or unique book to put in their shop. The sale runs through Saturday.

Missouri River Regional Library and Adult Basic Literacy Education are set to hold their annual book sale, beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing through Saturday.

In its 21st year, the MRRL and ABLE annual Book Sale has become a favorite event among Jefferson City-area book lovers. It kicks off with an early bird event from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday. Book shoppers must pay a $5 entry fee Wednesday to get first picks of some of their favorite books, MRRL Marketing Manager Natalie Newville said.

"There are some books from the library collection and a lot of donations," Newville said. "We get a lot of donations."

In fact, people continue to donate books year-round. Organizers of the sale usually have about 3,100 boxes of books for the event, which will be held at St. Martins Knights of Columbus Hall, 537 Route T.

But by December last year, the library already had 3,200 boxes of books, Newville said, and organizers decided to hold a "pop-up sale." The mini event - limited to adult fiction, romance and mysteries - in late January helped bring the book inventory under control.

"We were trying to clear out some room," Newville said.

There is no entry fee for the sale Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The sale is open 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday.

Library organizers hope the sale allows people to get to know the library a little better, Newville said. They want people to understand the library is about more than books. ABLE is a nonprofit organization in Jefferson City that promotes literacy in the city and surrounding communities.

Proceeds from the sale benefit both organizations.

"If you have books to donate, we'd love for you to wait until next week," Newville said. "As soon as the book sale is over, the ABLE volunteers will begin sorting again."