Friends of the Denton Public Libraries is hosting its quarterly Big Book Sale on Saturday, Feb. 2. The money made at Saturday’s sale will go toward the Denton Public Libraries to cover programs, equipment and materials, President Robert Desiderato said.

The Big Book Sale begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. for the general public and admission costs a dollar to enter. Members of Friends of the Denton Public Libraries get in for free if they are 45 minutes early and get the first crack at the big sale, located at Denton Public Library.

“We inform the public library late each year and it then submits a proposal for its expenditures. The amount available has been about $25,000 each year,” Desiderato said. “Most of the funds are requested for the library's summer reading program to encourage young children to read.”

Desiderato said in the summer reading program, each child is given their own new book(s) to keep and read. Some other library requests are for funding for things like furniture, other programs such as its 3D printing workshop, and additional programs of interest to patrons.

The Big Book Sales are held quarterly each year in February, May, August and November and are usually on the first Saturday of the month.

All of the items sold at the sale are secondhand but are in “first-rate condition,” Desiderato said. There will be an even distribution of fiction and non-fiction books, as well as CDs and DVDs.

Desiderato said nearly all of the books — particularly the fiction books — are of recent publication, and this includes popular authors. Hardcover books are priced at $1.00 and paperbacks are $0.50, according to the Facebook event page. Only cash or local checks will be accepted.

Alejandro Galindo-Juarez said he is looking forward to attending the Big Book Sale on Saturday. He said his roommate is and has been a member of the Friends of the Denton Public Libraries for over a year now and told him about the event.

“I saw that my roommate was interested in attending the sale on the Facebook event page,” the 20-year-old said. “We talked about it and are both now going together. I have not been to one before but I’m really excited.”

All members of the Friends of the Denton Public Libraries — rates start at $10 annually — get a 20 percent discount on book sales from the bookstore at the North Branch location — open every Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The discount does not apply to the Big Book Sale but members do get in free of charge.

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