Wisconsin’s largest used book sale opens Oct. 22

The largest used book sale in Wisconsin, which will include more than 15,000 books covering almost any subject, runs Oct. 22-25 on the UW–Madison campus.

The semiannual fund-raiser is hosted by the Friends of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries, which is a major cosponsor of the Wisconsin Book Festival, scheduled for Oct 22-26 in downtown Madison. The sale will be in 116 Memorial Library, 728 State St.

Primarily UW–Madison faculty, staff and students, and area residents donate the materials to the friends group. The public sale helps fund an annual lecture series, special purchases for the libraries’ collections, preservation projects, and a visiting scholar support program.

Since 1997, the group has awarded more than 130 grants totaling $131,000 to campus libraries. The grants are funded by the book sales.

Among the strong collections being offered are books covering history, women’s studies, religion and philosophy, foreign languages, literature, and art.

A preview sale ($5 admission) will be 5-9 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22. The regular sale, open to the public at no charge, will be 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, and Friday, Oct. 24. On Saturday, Oct. 25, from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., patrons can bring a bag and fill it for $2 (or buy a bag for $1 at the sale).

For more information, visit the libraries’ Book Sale Web page at http://giving.library.wisc.edu/friends/book-sales.shtml or contact the Friends at (608) 265-2505 or friends@library.wisc.edu.