Monika Kennedy and Janet Kaminstein in the Children’s Sorting area. Courtesy photo

Annual Concord Free Public Library Book Sale June 10

By Fiona Stevenson
May 18, 2023

Need some extra reading material for the summer and beyond? The Concord Free Public Library is preparing its Friends of the CFPL Annual June Book Sale at 129 Main Street, to be held on Saturday, June 10 on the library’s front lawn from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Rain date is Saturday, June 17.

The sorters’ team in the basement of the Main Library. Courtesy photo.

Donations for the sale have been accepted throughout the year at the Main Library and include nearly-new or gently used books, movies and music for adults and children. Volunteers sort the donations into familiar categories (fiction, mystery, cookbooks, biography, history etc.) and then pack them into hundreds of boxes in preparation for the sale. 

Prices for hardcovers, paperbacks, records and DVDs can’t be beat. Don’t miss the Specials Tables with individually priced treasures that dedicated sorters work year-round to find.

Longtime volunteer Claire Greene says “We have more than 1,000 boxes of books and media ready for the sale. We have had many interesting donations this year.”

Claire and Dick Greene lead a crew of sorters who meet several times a week in the library’s basement to manage the donations. Many have volunteered for decades and have become experts at understanding what the Book Sale patrons prefer, from book dealers to teachers to the voracious readers that fill bag after bag of books, often donating them again after reading.

Rick Scott holds vinyl destined for the sale. Courtesy photo.

The children’s books for all ages fill a corner of the lawn at the sale, with enough choices to stock a family library. Janet Kaminstein and her helpers organize the titles by series, genre, age and price, and make the entire stock resemble a bookstore. Janet says this year the amazing quality of contemporary picture book illustrators has really stood out, promising wonderful choices for everyone.

The Friends of the Concord Free Public Library is a non-profit organization that runs on volunteer power and yearly membership dues. More information on joining can be found at https://concordlibrary.org/about/how-we-work/the-friends-of-the-library. The proceeds from the book sale will fund the library programs, museum passes, eBooks, print and audio-visual materials, and staff professional development.

Whatever your current reading passion is, you can find it at the Book Sale. It is one of Concord’s great community events which attracts bookworms from all over the map, eager for that rope to drop at 10 a.m. sharp and to get busy browsing and buying. Come join the fun!