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CUBBERLEY
USED BOOK SALES

Saturday
July 10

9 am - 4 pm
Children's Books in K6
Bargain Books in K7
You'll find children's books and books on parenting in room K6, where paperbacks start at 50 cents and hardcovers at $1.00.  In K7, which is the bargain room, children's books are just 25 cents each, paperbacks are 50 cents, and hardcovers are $1.00.  Bargain room books drop to half-price at 12:30 pm, and then to just $5 for each grocery bag you fill (we supply the bags) at 2 pm.  Both rooms are in the K wing (see map).

11 am - 4 pm
Main Book Room Sale
As usual, our main room is overflowing with books priced way below what used book stores charge.  Paperbacks are 50 cents and up, and hardcovers are $1.00 and up.  You can pick up a ticket as early as 8 am to reserve your place in the line that forms for this room prior to opening, but no ticket is needed to get in.

Featured sales books for July include:

Audiobooks * Automobiles
Biography * CDs
Catholic Encyclopedia 18 volumes
Classics * Gardening
Golf * Home Improvement
Large Print Books
Military History
Modern Literature * Nature
Puzzles * Railroads
Science Fiction * Videos

And much, much more!

4000 Middlefield Road
Palo Alto
Near the northwest end of the Cubberley Community Center

Room locations

More information on the sales
Donate your old books

All proceeds go to help Palo Alto libraries.


Users Speak Out on the Library
What do library users think of the Palo Alto Library?  Read 42 comments submitted recently to the library and the library's responses.

Suggestions?
We're always eager to hear your suggestions for ways to improve our book sale.  Please email them to us at suggestions@friendspaloaltolib.org or mention them to a volunteer at the sale.
So Many Books, Thanks to Incredible Donors!
Our volunteers report that they've been happily working extra long hours to sort, price, and shelve all the new donations flowing in.  So, if our staff seems a bit groggy and confused this time, you now know why.  The good news is that all these books are on the shelves, ready for the sale.

Many people donate a single bag or box of books at a time at one of the Palo Alto library branches.  Meanwhile, over 1,000 separate individuals and families have brought materials to donate in the last 12 months directly to our book room.  All of these supporters of the library are real heroes, cleaning out their overstuffed shelves and looming stacks of books to create new readers and help fund the library. 

Members Get in Early at August Sale
Our annual event of opening the sale early to members of the Friends of the Palo Alto Library is just one month away.  At our August 14th sale, life members will be admitted at 9 am and all other members can enter at 10 am.  That gives our members time in advance to enjoy the booksale room and to shop in a less-crowded fashion.  The main booksale room will then open at 11 am to everyone as usual.  If you're not already a member of the Friends already, you can join for $15 or less online, by mail, or at the sale.
 
Enter Book Sorting Contest by July 9
More than 10,000 books are donated to us each month, and we're not sure always which section to put each book in.  For example, should I, Claudius go into the Biography section or into Classics?  Or maybe it belongs under Fiction or perhaps over in Television?  Even some of our expert book room sorters can't always decide.

So here's a little contest to test your own book knowledge and sorting skills.  Choose which section you think each of the following books should go into.  We'll match your choices against those of Marty Paddock, our peerless booksale manager.   If you can sort the most books correctly (or are chosen at random from among those who do), we'll let you choose a free shopping bagful of books from the bargain room.  You must submit your answer by 5 pm on Friday, July 9, to be eligible.  The winner will be notified by email, so be sure to include your correct address.

1. Put The Constant Gardener into:

2. Put Trustee from the Tool Room into:

3. Put Amazing Grace into:

4. Put Paris Trout into:

5. Put Jumbo Shrimp into:

6. Your email address:


Only one entry per person will be accepted. Judges' decisions are final.
 
Library Forum at Mitchell Park on July 8
Share your ideas at a community gathering on Thursday, July 8 at 7:30 pm at the Mitchell Park Library at 3700 Middlefield Road.  Library Director Paula Simpson will lead a dialogue about enhancing Palo Alto’s public library, and she is keen to hear your ideas on how library services can be improved.  The meeting is sponsored by the Library Advisory Commission and refreshments will be served.  For more information, contact Paula Simpson by e-mail or phone at 329-2403.  Comments from the May forum.
 
Saturday Library Hours May be Restored Downtown
The Friends of the Palo Alto Library, the University South Neighborhood Association, and many local residents wrote letters and spoke out in support of restoring Saturday hours for the Downtown Library at the June 28 City Council meeting.  The Downtown Library is the only branch in Palo Alto without any weekend hours, and since it also closes at 6 pm on the four weekdays when it is open, many working people and fulltime students can never use it.  Until June 2003, the branch was open on Saturdays and Mondays as well, but it then lost both days while other branches lost only one day or less or even gained hours.  In adopting the budget on June 28, the Council allocated an extra $35,000 and asked the Library Advisory Commission and the library staff to consider using this to restore the Saturday hours.  The Commission is scheduled to discuss the issue during its July 22 meeting and make a recommendation back to the Council by October.  We'd like to thank the Council for their extraordinary support of the library and hope to soon see the Downtown Library open again for Saturday users.  See Palo Alto Daily News article and Palo Alto Weekly article.
 
Enjoy Reading with our Book Group
The lively Friends of the Palo Alto Library book group has been meeting for many years now to discuss and enjoy a wide variety of contemporary books and occasional classics too.  Each month, about a dozen people meet at 7:30 pm on the second Thursday of each month in the cheery Fireside Room at the Lucie Stern Community Center to discuss a book chosen by the group.  Marilyn Williams, a retired social worker who attends almost every month, says, "we are very welcoming to anyone new."  Marilyn has been part of the group for about 15 years and remembers back when it met at the YWCA.  She points out that it's much more fun to read a book when you then get together with others to discuss it.  She also finds herself reading and enjoying books that she would never have encountered herself, and appreciates how the other members help her discover new ways to appreciate a book.  In coming months, the book group will be discussing Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (August 12), Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie (September 9), and The Book of Salt by Monique Truong (December 9).  See the full list of books and hours.

This notice comes to you from the non-profit organization Friends of the Palo Alto Library.  While the Better Business Bureau recommends that no more than 35% of a charitable organization's expenses be for management and fundraising expenses, ours were only 2.4% for our 2002-2003 fiscal year.  In other words, about 98% of the money we raised went to help the Palo Alto libraries.  Visit our web site.  Become a member by joining online.

Be sure to receive your own free copy of this e-mail notice so that you'll know about all special upcoming books sales.  To sign up, just e-mail us.  We carefully protect the privacy of your e-mail address.  We will not share your e-mail address with any other organization and we will not use it for any purpose other than to send you these notices.  If you do not wish to receive these e-mail notices in the future, please reply with the words "Remove Me" in the subject line.