The College Terrace Library is closed, effective Monday, July 13, 2009, to renovate the historic building that houses the library and a child care center. Construction is estimated to take one year to complete. The City-funded Capital Improvement Project will upgrade the building's mechanical, electrical and seismic systems, add air conditioning, and make improvements to building accessibility.

Even when the libraries are closed, you can still search the online catalog, submit reference desk questions, access many online resources, and get book recommendations.

Non-profit organizations and schools that need FREE books should come to the Bargain Room this month from 4 to 6 pm on Sunday, August 9.  Please bring your own grocery bags to put books into.  More information.

August Sale Highlights

Donations continue to pour in. The temporary closure of College Terrace Library also resulted in more books for the Friends...The Children's Room is full once again with great stuff... As usual, the Science section has a great selection of books on all things science and math, but this month an unusual donation from a reknowned physicist means we have dozens of books on nuclear physics and electricity (definitely not "light" reading)...The Gardening section received a nice collection of books on flower arranging covering all kinds of styles...In the Religion/Philsophy section there is one full shelf of books on Taoism, most of them by Master Ni Hua-Ching...From the same donor, some interesting books and videos on Asian Medicine can be found in the Health section...A huge number of cookbooks arrived this month, most of them will be for sale in the Tent Sale for $1.00 or in the Bargain Room, but there were some nicer ones you'll find in the usual section in the Main Room at regular prices...Those who like to work with their hands will find the Home & Crafts section bursting at the seams with a large donation of woodworking books and magazines available. Want to keep your mind in shape? Check out the Games and Puzzles section where you'll find lots of brain teasers, with a nice group of word related items can be found including several dozen crossword and word search books and magazines.

 
Preview Our Shelves

Check out some of the tens of thousands of books that will be on sale this weekend using our shelf preview pictures.

The books in this case are offered to our regular customers for one month before they are listed online. The prices at the sale are significantly BELOW what they will be offered for sale online. On Saturday there will be a sign up sheet on the case for priority access. Due to the crowds in the room in the early part of the sale, no books will be sold from the cabinet until 1pm. On Sunday, access to the cabinet will be any time during the hours of the sale. See any FOPAL volunteer to unlock the case for you.

Click here to view the Exceptional Books inventory (HTML)

Click here to view the Exceptional Books inventory (PDF)

We've always gotten a good number of donations of books in many different languages. There are some more really nice books in French and German available this month. We have also expanded our selection of books in Russian to it's own book case under the window in the Foreign Language section. A recent donation from a Swedish designer's estate had some nice items which will be featured in the Foreign Language section. Our Section Manger is also featuring a collection of books in POLISH.

Over the past months, we have accumulated a nice collection of Vintage Paper Ephemera, older paper items that can't really be classified as books. Vintage paper is very popular with collectors, and can include things such as old brochures, pamplets, government publications, advertising, photos, tickets, playbills, and on and on...Our latest accumulation will be for sale outside the Main Room on Saturday, look the the left as you come in the Main Room entrance.

 
Sunday! Sunday! Mystery 50% Off Sale; Free Books for Sunday Shoppers

On Sunday August 9 there will be a 50% off sale on one category of books in the Main Room. The category will not be announced ahead of time, the only way you can find out which category is on sale is by attending the sale on Sunday. Signs will be posted on the doors and on the shelves of the section involved on the morning of the Sale. In addition, we will have a small selection of FREE books available to shoppers on Sunday. One free book per person, and you must purchase at least one item from the Sale. There are a limited number of free books and first-come, first-served. This applies to the Main Room only. Doors open at 11 am.

Due to the increasing reuse of grocery and other bags, we tend to run short at our sales and encourage you to bring your own cloth tote or paper bags to the sale. If you have any extra grocery bags in good condition please bring them for your purchases at the sale. We would also gladly accept any extra bags you wish to donate. NO BOXES are allowed in the sale, however.

By shopping at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park and Amazon.com, a percentage of your purchase price can help the Palo Alto Libraries at no cost to you.  At Kepler's, just mention to the cashier that you want to support the Friends of the Palo Alto Library.  For Amazon.com, always start your shopping session by clicking here or on the Amazon link on the top right of any of our web pages at www.friendspaloaltolib.org.  Virtually all purchases you make at Amazon are eligible, not just books.  Over the years, we've raised thousands of dollars to help our libraries through these programs.