Friends of the Palo Alto Library Visit our web site 
 
CUBBERLEY
USED BOOK SALES

Saturday May 8
 Bargain and Children's Room Open 10 am - 4 pm
Marty's (Main) Room open 11 am - 4 pm
Outdoor $1.00 Sale opens at 9 am
Ephemera Opens 8 am
(weather permitting)
 
 Sunday May 9
 All Rooms Open 11 am - 4pm


FEATURED IN MAY 

Foreign Languages
Birds - DVD Movies
Religion
African American History
Anthropology - Sociology
Magazine Back Issues
Psychology & Self-Help
Science & Mathematics

Over 50,000 items available!
 

4000 Middlefield Road
Palo Alto
NW corner of the Cubberley Community Center
(650) 213-8755

www.friendspaloaltolib.org

Map
More information on the sales
Donate your old books
 
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO HELP PALO ALTO LIBRARIES

Marty's (Main) Book Room
In our Main Room, prices are way below what used book stores charge. Paperbacks are 50 cents and up, and hardcovers are $1 and up. Numbered tickets for the Main Room are given out beginning at 8 am on Saturday. These reserve your place in the line that forms before the 11 am opening. Patrons may enter The Main Room Sale in order of their number starting at 11am. We can only allow 185 patrons in the Main Room building at any one time. If you plan on arriving after 12:00 noon you do NOT need a number.

Please note that due to crowding during the first two hours of the Book Sale, we cannot allow strollers, rolling carts, etc. to be brought into the Main Room. This is for the safety of shoppers and volunteers alike. By 12:30 or so, the crowd thins out and shoppers are welcome to bring these items into the sale.

Children's Book Sale in New Location
The Children's Room has moved to the portable formerly occupied by the Jewish Community Center next to the soccer field. It is entirely filled with children's books and toys. You'll find picture books, school age fiction, award winners, non-English titles, and books for parents and teachers, many for under $1. This room and the Bargain Room open at 10 am on Saturday. Strollers are welcome in the Children's Room at any time.

Bargain Books in K-7
The Bargain Room is located in Room K-7 of the Cubberley main campus, right next to the tennis courts. Paperbacks are 50 cents, hardcovers are $1, and children's books are just 25 cents each. The room also contains many LP records and 78s at $1 each. On Sunday, the room opens at 11 am and all prices are half off. Save even more on Sundays by buying grocery bags from us for $5 each and stuffing them with any items in the room. Buy 4 bags and get the 5th one FREE!

 
Downtown Library Is Closed
The Downtown Library has closed for renovations. Mitchell Park will be moving operations to the Cubberley Community Center Auditorium in mid-summer while the new Mitchell Park Library/Youth Center is built. Check with the Library for full details.
 
Non-Profit Book Giveaway
Non-profit organizations, schools and teachers that need FREE books should come to the Bargain Room this month from 4 to 6 pm on Sunday, May 9. Please bring your own grocery bags to put books into. More information.

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.

May Sale Highlights

A big THANK YOU to all of you who attended and made the April sale a success in spite of the heavy rains we had on Sunday. On the bright side, donations have been pouring in, literally by the truckload this month and we've been getting more than normal library discards as both the Downtown and Mitchell Park libraries move to their temporary new home (in the auditorium at Cubberley). The May Sale will be one of our biggest in recent months in terms of quantity.... Some highlights...second half of a large collection of Sociology and Anthropology books donated by the estate of a former Stanford professor.... Two large estate donations came in. The Boudart family of Atherton donated some wonderful Foreign Language books (mostly French) as well as some science and engineering material. A prominent Silicon Valley engineer donated more Science and Math books, including some very nice vintage material. We'll be featuring material from both of these donations over the next two months.... A member of the local clergy donated an eclectic selection of Religion books.... Movie buffs will love a huge selection of near-new DVDs (many from ONE DONOR!) with many genres represented - PLUS a large amount of library culls from the Downtown Library closing.... Birders should check out the Nature section for some nice books on the avian set.... The Non-Fiction section features books on African American History. Don't forget, if you come early we have a Tent Sale (weather permitting) right outside the Main Room entrance. It opens at 9am and everything there is only $1.00 each!

 
Magazine Back Issues By The Ton!
We have obtained back issues of over 100 magazine titles - some dating back to the 1800s - from the Downtown Library closing. Many are bound volumes. Because of the large amount of material, we will allow anyone to buy on Friday May 7 by appointment only. This is ONLY for magazines and nothing from the rest of the sale will be sold. Also note that the minimum purchase for Friday buyers is $100. We will offer great deals for those willing to buy in bulk. During the regular sale on both Saturday and Sunday the magazines will be priced at $5 per box. We are also willing to donate some the magazines free of charge to 501(c)3 non-profits, schools and teachers with proper credentials. A downloadable list of titles and years is available from the link below. Note that some years may be missing.

Please call Jerry Stone at (650) 468-9732 to set up an appointment.

Downloadable listing of magazine titles available (PDF)

 
Preview Our Shelves

Click here to see some of the shelves at this weekend's sale Check out some of the tens of thousands of books that will be on sale this weekend using our shelf preview pictures.

 
Exceptional/Collectible Books Display Case
After listening to feedback from our customers, we have retired the locked Exceptional Books case. It was a good experiment, but we're ready to try something different that will be more convenient for both customers and staff. Many of the books that would have been featured in the glass case will be placed on shelves in the regular sales area for the May sale. Our walk-in customers are always our top priority, and our goal continues to be to offer Exceptional Books that are of general interest to regular customers at the monthly sales before listing them on the Internet. We are tentatively planning on having a separate Exceptional/Collectible Book Sale in June, in a room in the new Annex, where the Children's Room is now located. Details will be in next month's newsletter. Books that were previously offered in the glass case are now listed on our Amazon Store:

Friends of the Palo Alto Library Amazon Store
 
 
New Children's Room and Bargain Room Plans
The new Children's Room has opened to rave reviews. With lots more space to display books and a stroller-friendly environment both volunteers and shoppers are very happy. Be sure to visit the new space, located next to Greendell School and the soccer field/running track on the south side of the Cubberley campus.

The Bargain Room will be undergoing a makeover after the May Sale. Many of the book cases now in the Bargain Room will be marked for sale (they will have to be picked up AFTER the sale, however).
 
Sunday Fun Day - Mystery 50% Off Sale; Free Books for Sunday Shoppers
Sundays are a great time to shop the Book Sale. The atmosphere is quiet and peaceful and there are still thousands of great books available. Each Sunday we have 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.
 
Think Ecologically! - Bring or Donate Your Own Bags

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.

 
Book Group Chooses Next Year of Reading
Here's what the Friends of the Palo Alto Library book group will be reading over the coming year.  The group meets from 7:30 to 9 pm on the third Thursday of every month at the Lucie Stern Community Center Fireside Room at 1305 Middlefield Road.  Click on any title to learn more it:
 
Date   Title and Author
May 20, 2010   A Mercy by Toni Morrison
June 17   The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
July 15   The Oresteia by Aeschylus
August 19   The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
September 16   Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
October 21   Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
November 18   1776 by David McCullough
December 16   The Pig Did It edited by Joseph Caldwell
January 20, 2011   The Outlander by Gil Adamson
February 17   The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
March 17   In Other Rooms Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
April 21   Meet to choose the next eleven books for 2011-2012
 
Support Palo Alto's Libraries While You Shop
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.
This notice comes to you from the non-profit organization Friends of the Palo Alto Library. No trees were felled in the making of this e-mail. 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 under 1% for our 2007-2008 fiscal year. In other words, over 99% of the money we raised went to help Palo Alto Library users. 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.