'People Look Forward To It Every Year': Friends Of The Helmrich Library Holding Annual Used Book Sale

For 20 years, Friends of the Helmerich Library have helped find old books new homes at a low price.

The organization puts on a used book sale every year at the Helmerich Library at 91st and Yale in Tulsa.

"I have basically been helping since I was 12," said Bailey James, President of Friends of the Helmerich Library. "This library opened the year I was born so I have been coming here since I was a baby and my very first job was as a shelver at this library."

Bailey followed in her mother Kelly's footsteps. She is one of the organization's founding members and helped start the used book sale in 2004.

"We actually stored the books in another founding friend's attic and we brought them all here and we made $1,200 and we thought we had hung the moon," said Kelly.

The books in the sale come in as donations and leave with a new home. There are hardbacks and paperbacks, both fiction and nonfiction, covering all genres.

Bailey said, "We have western, art, travel, local interests, Oklahoma, military, cookbooks, gardening, history, biography, all manner of stuff and we keep it sorted because we want it to find a good home."

To ensure that happens, Friends of the Helmerich Library keeps the cost of books low, with most everything in the sale at $2 or less.

There are also CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, cassette tapes, puzzles, and games in the sale.

Kelly said the wide variety, high quality of items, and reasonable prices are why the fundraiser is so successful.

"People look forward to it every year," she said. "We even have people come from Texas, sometimes from Kansas."

However, the dollars stay local to help fund programs like the Bookmobile and Story Time in the Park.

"Part of what is so great and important about a group like Friends of the Helmerich Library is that we make sure that every library branch is getting the funds and attention it needs," said Bailey.

The used book sale begins with a preview night on Thursday, April 11th from 5-8 p.m. and a $5 donation is required to make a purchase.

It's open again and free to get into on April 12-13 and April 19-20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Helmerich Library is located at 5131 E 91st Street.