In November of 2014 FOPAL implemented the following rules to be followed during the period of the 12-book limit rule. These rules still stand and will continue to be enforced. We ask all shoppers to honor the following rules:

1. EARLY IN THE SALE, each customer may select up to twelve (12) books, sets of books, or other items. They must be purchased and taken outside of the sale room. Customers may then return to the waiting line (if any) and re-enter the sale as often as they like. Note: The FOPAL Sale Manager will announce when this limit is lifted.
2. Adult shoppers may bring in no more than ONE GROCERY-SIZED BAG or ONE GREEN FOPAL BAG.
3. For safety's sake, NO boxes, large backpacks, carriages, or strollers will be allowed. Bags and other large items must not block access to shelves - they are a tripping hazard.
4. Do not take books away from their sections to review them. If you remove a book to look at it, please replace it neatly on the shelf. Covering, hoarding, and/or stashing books are not allowed. Keep your books with you; abandoned books will be re-shelved.
5. Avoid crowding, pushing, verbal disagreements, and aggressive interactions with other shoppers, staff, or volunteers.
6. SCANNER/CELL PHONE USAGE- some customers have voiced their concerns about the use of scanners. Although some book sales do not permit their use, FOPAL permits them with the expectation that all customers will act in a manner that is respectful to other patrons, volunteers, and staff. If you are using a dedicated scanner, please be mindful of the area and other customers around you. If you are not using a scanner, please keep in mind that those who do are also customers.

Our goal is to make our book sales as pleasant and rewarding as possible, for as many customers as possible. We are grateful for the support of most of our shoppers in honoring these rules. We ask for the commitment of our "business clients" in considering the rights of all of our customers and observing our rules.

Many thanks to all of you -FOPAL Book Sale Committee

If you cannot attend the book sale, please drop by the Friends Bookstore located inside the Mitchell Park Library, Downtown Library, and Rinconada Library, and open during library hours. They are restocked regularly with a unique selection of books for all ages and interests.

 
Suggestions?

November 9th: FOPAL Sale & CASP Open Studios

One great location: the Cubberley Community Center! Two great events! November 9th, FOPAL and Cubberley Artist Studio Program CASP come together to offer bibliophiles and art connoisseurs an opportunity to shop/buy FOPAL's art books, framed art...then attend CASP's Open Studios! Look for more details on FOPAL's Facebook page. Please "like" and "follow" us when you visit. General info: CASP Open Studios - Wings E, F and U, 12pm-4pm. Join the artists in their studios for workshops, art and refreshments.

 
What's special for November '19?

Mid-October FOPAL was excited to be the recipient of a generous donation from the Eitner Family. 70+ boxes of books came in mid-October and we're now able to offer this special donation to you. Many of the books from this collection are from the collection of Lorenz Eitner:

https://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/march18/eitner-031809.html

A sizable number of books from this donation can be found in our European Languages & Art sections. Look for full shelves in the Religion section as a result of a nice donation from a local church that came through our sorting room late last month. The donation from a Stanford classics professor special is continued for November. Look for books and pamphlets in excellent condition that cover the areas of religion, literature/language, history and Latin and Greek. We've been working hard to bring out all the seasonal Winter Holidays books and CDs we've been collecting these many months. If you are looking for great ideas on how to liven up your holidays, look no further. You are sure to find something you'll be excited to read, listen to or share with loved ones during this upcoming holiday season. Look for the festive display as you enter the Main Room on the right. You'll find a large selection of the Fall and Winter Holidays books in the Bargain Room/H2 as well.

 
Unusual Print Ephemera & Collectable Sale Saturday, November 9th

Whether you are a collector of ephemera or not, come see what we have found over the past years/months amongst the many generous donations and have set aside for this event. Come take a look at a fascinating array of material on a broad range of subjects. Cubberley Community Center Room M3, 10am to 4pm.

 
FOPAL Members Get the First Pick at Members' Early Sale

A super big FUN FESTIVE FOPAL Members' Early Sale is scheduled for Saturday, December 14th. Twice a year, FOPAL holds a Members' Early Sale, at which members of the Friends of the Palo Alto Library are admitted early to the Main Room sale. Members enjoy a less crowded Main Room and get the first crack at FOPAL's wonderful collection of materials!

Saturday, December 14th - At our Members' Early Sale, Life and Sponsor Members (and one spouse or guest) may enter at 9AM and can purchase up to 100 books per membership from 9 AM to 10 AM. Other Members enter at 10AM and are able to purchase 25 books at a time. General admission for all including non-Members begins at 11AM. The usual limit on purchasing 12 books at a time lasts until there is no longer a line waiting to enter. Remember, you may renew your membership, or join FOPAL, on the sale day. Renew, or join now at www.fopal.org/join.

 
Special Vinyl Sale coming December 14th

Save the date for a special vinyl sale event December 14th at Cubberley Community Center. FOPAL co-presenting with KFJC 89.7 FM. Jazz, rock, new wave, funk, soul, reggae, classical, and all other genres. Bargains and rarities, Saturday December 14th, same day as FOPAL's December sale, but Saturday only.

 
Classic and Modern Literature

"We received a nice donation of fiction by Black writers, from Americans such as James Baldwin and Richard Wright to African and South American authors such as Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Buchi Emecheta, and Antonio Olinto. There's also a volume of Best Short Stories by Black Writers from 1967 to the Present. Two shelves of these books are prominently displayed in our section." -The Classic and Modern Literature Team

 
Religion

"Among the interesting new donations this month:

"5 volume set of works of Francis A Schaeffer
De Lubicz's Symbol and the Symbolic, explores ancient Egypt, Science and the evolution of consciousness.
Local author Arthur Daniel's If God Heals Your Eyes Don't Cut Off Your Head explores and refutes thoughts of those who argue against religion.
W. H. Bennett, The Mishna as Illustrating the Gospels draws parallels between the gospels and Jewish oral tradition.
An attractive copy of Hurlbut's 1832 Story of the Bible.
The 1942 study, The English Church by the Bishop of Chichester with attractive illustrations." -Nancy Cohen

 
Special Classics Collection

"There are still many volumes in this donation from a Stanford classics professor. Included are many studies of Bede and other religious subjects as well as history, language and literature." -Nancy Cohen

 
Art

"FOPAL received the art book collection from Stanford Professor Lorenz Eitner's personal library. His collection represented wonderful books on individual artists, art history and especially, exhibition catalogs representing art from all over the world. Many of the books are vintage and represent art collections from dated from 1913-1940. FOPAL even received several Stanford exhibition prints by distinguished artists such as Nathan Oliveira. The Eitner book donation was so large that it will take multiple sales to display his total collection.

"The Art section also assembled a very large collection of vintage posters and prints which will be made available at the November Ephemera sale in Room M3 of the Cubberley Community Center. The prints are delightful and some are extremely collectible. The prints are very much worth taking a look and will make a wonderful art display in your home." -Andrea Lozano

 
Unusual Paper Ephemera and Collectibles Sale

"One day only: Saturday November 9th, 10am-4pm, Cubberley room M3.

"Our Unusual Paper Sale last June was such a success we've gathered even more items from the late 1800s on for this special pre-holiday sale.

"Topics include: art and entertainment memorabilia; old maps; almanacs from the 1940s-1980s (what happened the year you were born?); Alaskan USGS bulletins; surveys of mines, California oil fields, etc. from the early 1900s on; pamphlets/booklets on dozens of subjects: Civil War battles, California and the west, medicine, nature, social issues, countercultures, religion, railroads, aviation, and industry (to name a few); poetry and fiction chapbooks; small books; 1900s scrapbooks and black and white photo albums; vintage magazines, etc. Collectibles include: 2 German cuckoo clocks with all parts, pristine souvenir dolls and curios from the world as it was in the 1970s and 1980s, mid-century board games, toys, a complete 2006 set (1-31) of Chinese stamps, many more curiosities. All items priced to sell, perfect for gift-giving to anyone appreciating these wonderful one-of-a-kind items." -Karen D.

 
Children's Room

"This month we have a good selection of Thanksgiving books of all kinds, just inside the door. We're also offering the first half of our Christmas and Hanukkah books, DVDs, crafts kits, and activity books. Our giftables shelves are full of new and like-new picture books, and there's a display of beautifully illustrated Mother Goose books, too.

"In School-age Fiction you'll find the complete Series of Unfortunate Events, many Diary of a Wimpy Kid books (including the most recent), many Hunger Games books including gift sets, and lots of John Green books including Looking for Alaska, which is currently streaming on Hulu. A special find is a copy of Little Women with the movie DVD, in a gift set.

"The Humor and Graphic Novels shelves are packed with everything from Peanuts to Pokemon, Calvin and Hobbes to Spiderman. We have cookbooks galore for kids and teens--just add an apron or a set of measuring spoons and you've got a fun gift. The Science section has quite a selection of science experiment books, to help students choose projects for science fairs." -Carolyn Davidson

 
Vintage Children's Books

"Dick and Jane and their friends are all represented this month with many, many, many basic children's readers for sale in vintage children's books. Check out the offerings on the red cart as well as the basket set out near it. We also have a newly robust science and other non-fiction book section specifically for the younger set, as well as a whole set of classics by Maud and Miska Petersham. As for the older kids, we're continuing to set aside collectible books (some of them leather bound) in their own section to make it easier for the discriminating buyer to make a real find. In addition, there are a number of books by Lucy Fitch-Perkins (The Cave Twins, The Spartan Twins etc) that can either start or add to your collection. And we have a particularly full selection of science, history and general non-fiction books for fans of those genres. Fall is a good time to curl up with one of your childhood favorites (or a new one!) and read!" -Lisa Heitman

 
Teen Recommendations by Jeff Wang

Vorkosigan Saga: Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold

As the Dendarii Mercenary fleet orbits the blue and green planet, their commander Admiral Naismith disappeared, and Lieutenant Miles Vorkosigan emerged at the Barrayaran Embassy in london. Having finally escaped the Cetagandans in his daring escape from the top secret prison of Dagoola IV, Miles Vorkosigan finally had the time to take a breath of fresh air: on Earth. But his stay there was not what he had hoped for--the funds he requested from his superior, Captain Duv Galeni, for Naismith's money-starved special operations mercenary fleet never materialized. To make things worse, he is constantly put into situations where his two different selves are placed into conflict, as the Dendarii crew becomes more and more restless.... Will Miles be able to leave Earth with both of his identities intact?

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Utopia, or Dystopia? Everything in the World State seems to be going smoothly--pretty much everyone loves their work, and any misery they may encounter in the world is promptly wiped away by the miracle drug called soma. But was this really so perfect? No one is born naturally anymore--everyone undergoes a factory-like process, as humans are "decanted" en masse. It is during the early stages of life where the different social classes are decided--the lower classes undergo alcohol treatment and oxygen deprivation to become shorter and less intelligent than their upper-class peers, and this difference is enforced after birth, with the Epsilons, Deltas, and Gammas conditioned with electric shocks to hate books and nature, so that they will fit right into the hyperconsumiseristic society. Benard Marx is a Alpha-Plus, the highest class of this society, but he doesn't fit in. Being shorter and more ill-tempered than his contemporaries due to trouble with his birth, he thinks differently from his contemporaries, rejecting many of the social norms that should have come natural to him through the conditioning. When visiting a savage reservation in New Mexico, where people still lived like the old days, Bernard discovers John, son of a woman originally from the World State. Trying to gain status, Bernard decides to take him back to the World State, but this transition from "savagery" to "civilization" does not go too smoothly for John...

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl II: 13-year-old genius, current head of the Fowl criminal syndicate, and one who outsmarted the magical forces of Lower Elements, had just learned that the person whose footsteps he had been following--his father, Artemis Fowl I--was still alive. The former leader of the fowl Family had not sunk with the Fowl Star, as the young Artemis had always thought, but no miracles come without a price: his father was held for ransom by the Russian Mafia. As this is happening, there was also trouble in the Magical underground: there had been contraband smuggled in from the human world--batteries--and Artemis Fowl II was the prime suspect. But after capturing Artemis, it is revealed that he was not responsible for the crime, and the former enemies now have to work together to solve their difficulties. Will they be able to uncover who was behind the unrest in the fairy world, and also rescue Artemis's father?

 
Computers

"Computers this month features special labeled sections of books on: Lisp; Robotics; Design and Construction of Compilers; and hardware reference manuals for Intel and other chip makers." -David Cortesi

 
Gardening

"Gifty Gardening Books Galore! For those special Gardeners or Garden Lovers in your life, the Gardening section this month has a bumper crop of delightful, like-new, stocking stuffer size books with titles like: Foxgloves and Hedgehog Days, A Potpourri of Pansies, An ABC of Gardening, Perennial Pleasures, The Naming of Flowers, Gardener's Latin, etc., etc. We also have a number of lavishly illustrated coffee table size volumes on such subjects as the gardens of France, Renaissance Italy, Italian Villas, Georgetown, and the famed landscape architect Russell Page." -Ann Justice

 
Self Help

"This month I have several dozen CDs on a variety of self-help topics; all priced to sell! Great for a counselor or coach who wants to enhance their skills. Featured books are: Designing Your Life, Enlightenment Now, The Second Mountain, Mind Map Mastery, Intentionally Nice, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do, Thanks, The Upward Spiral, The Book of Joy. There is a signed copy of Learning To Fly by Sam Keen, and The Fountain of Age by Betty Friedan. I've put 'Popular on Amazon' and 'New Arrivals' on the top shelves, but don't forget to look on the lower shelves to see what might grab your interest. Thanks for doing YOUR part to support libraries and the environment" -Marnie

 
Judaica

"Browse the Judaica section for books on the Jewish religion including editions of the Torah, Kabbalah, Jewish history, the Holocaust, memoirs, Israel, Jewish Women, the Jewish American Experience and other related subjects.

"New this month - A Letter in the Scroll: Understanding Our Jewish Identity and Exploring the Legacy of the World's Oldest Religion; Abraham Joshua Heschel & Elie Wiesel, You Are My Witnesses; Jewish Mothers Tell Their Stories: Acts of Love and Courage; Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor; From the Ends of the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress.

"Most fiction with Jewish themes will be found in Modern Literature/Classics or Current Fiction. Books entirely in Hebrew are shelved in the European Languages section." -Charlotte Epstein

 
Music

"Visit the Music section for books on a wide variety of musical topics in the genres of classical, rock, jazz, opera, American music, and dance.

"New this month - The Notation of Polyphonic Music, 900 - 1600; The Undiscovered Paul Robeson; The American Square Dance; The Kingdom of Zydeco; Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years; Balls of Bob Menzies Australian Political Songs 1900- 1980; The Ways of Giacomo Puccini.

"Also browse our wide selection of sheet music neatly sorted by instruments including violin, piano, trumpet and guitar." -Charlotte Epstein

 
Science

"A significant selection of clean unmarked school level guide and workbooks on science showed up. Publishers include National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Lawrence Hall of Science and the Exploratorium. In other months titles like these might be found in our Education section or in the Children's Room. Because of the large amount received at one time we have parked them at the far left side of the Science section. Homeschoolers take note.

"A Stanford aeronautical professor with a lifelong interest in the history of science sent us a lot of books along with a long run of Technology & Culture Magazine. Unfortunately, the professor really read the books in depth and there is highlighting, underlining and pencil notes on many pages. Pricing has been adjusted downwards on these interesting titles on account of this." -Edwin El-kareh