Spring Book Sale starts April 15 at Memorial Library

If you love books, you won’t want to miss the Spring Friends of the UW–Madison Libraries Book Sale, to be held Wednesday, April 15 through Saturday, April 18. With more than 500 boxes of books ready to fill the tables for you to browse, this is the largest used book sale in Wisconsin. The sale is open to the public and held in Room 116 of Memorial Library, 728 State St., Madison.

Sale dates and hours:

Wednesday, April 15, 4-8 p.m. (Preview Sale, $5 entry fee)
Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (Regular Sale, no entry fee)
Saturday, April 18, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (Bag Sale, $4 per bag). Bring grocery-sized bags to fill or buy one for $1.
Saturday, April 18, 1:05-2 p.m. All remaining books are free.

Prices are reduced each day of the sale, but the items sell quickly — so the Friends advise you to shop early and shop often.

Featured in this sale are collections of art history, Russian history and politics, African studies, and Italy. Other areas include children’s books, American studies, world languages, music, cooking, physical and biological sciences, computer science, political science, law, education, travel, self-help, reference, business, religion, engineering and much more. There are also maps, DVDs, CDs, and vintage LPs.

Volunteers work year-round to collect and sort donated books. The sale itself takes nearly 60 volunteers to manage, and draws students, faculty and the general public from across the Midwest. Books are generously donated by UW faculty, staff and students, as well as many Madison-area residents.

The revenue from the sale helps fund special purchases for the libraries’ collections, book conservation and preservation, grants for visiting scholars, a Friends annual lecture series, and other special events open to the public. The Friends accept donations for upcoming sales on a continual basis and such donations are tax-deductible. For more information about the book sale or donating books, go to the Friends website, email friends@library.wisc.edu or call 608-265-2505.