At 3 p.m. Friday afternoon, volunteers with the Friends of the Edmonds Library began the task of setting up 30 tables, upon which between 3,500 to 4,000 books and media would be sorted and placed for Saturday morning’s book sale.

There were nearly 800 books classified as “fiction” alone, which needed to be situated for easy identification and access.

Books that were classified as non-fiction were sorted and placed on tables with signs indicating their basic contents. The offerings included science, wellness, spirituality, music, history, politics, cooking, gardening, humor, poetry/plays, biographies, travel, arts and crafts, coffee table, sports, nature and multiple tables of children’s books ranging from preschool to middle school.

The book sale was held in the meeting room of the Edmonds Library. As the doors opened at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, approximately 75 Friends of the Edmonds Library members poured into the room looking for treasurers. Non-members flowed in at 11 a.m.

One of the busiest areas was the children’s book section. Multiple families with children of all ages took advantage of the nearly 300 children’s books available.

In reflection: The Friends of the Edmonds Library annual book sale is a win-win for the Edmonds community. Not only does the event make thousands of donated books available at extremely low prices, but the proceeds of the event go to support literacy access programs both inside and outside of the Edmonds library.

As the organization’s treasurer, Thom Garrard, said: ”With the proceeds when the Edmonds Library conducts its summer reading programs, it is the Friends of the Edmonds Library that purchases the books.” In addition, funds go toward reading programs that are run by other Edmonds-area non-profits throughout the year.

 It is the organization’s mission to provide equitable access to meaningful information for everyone, along with a passion for literature and learning.