Bucky’s big book sale

by

Will it be a mob scene or...well, like a deserted library?

I don’t know what to expect when I head down early to the book sale hosted by the Friends of the UW-Madison Libraries. It’s been two long years since the last sale and the bibliophiles might be hungry. I know I can claim a spot in line by popping into the Memorial Library and paying my $5 admission ahead of time, but instead I stroll down State Street enjoying the late fall sunshine. I make it to the library 15 minutes ahead of the sale’s 4 p.m. start time to find a line all the way to the entry doors of the long hallway that leads to the sale rooms. Whoops.

I’ve never seen a line this long at past sales, so this is a surprise. As we wait, the person ahead of me in line kindly points people in the right direction to claim a number, and provides updates on the time to an antsy bargain-hunter just ahead. Students on their way to a study session or the computer lab alternately give us all the fish eye or look genuinely confused as to why the hallway is packed with masked-up randos. Some people come in, see the line, and decide to wait for another day.

“We did run out of numbers at 85, so we probably had over 100 people in line,” writes Friends Administrator Libby Theune in an email after the sale, which took place Oct. 20-23. “[People] also lined up for the $5-a-bag sale on Saturday, and again for the free books at 1 p.m. on Saturday.”

Eventually, the magic hour arrives, and the line starts moving. As shoppers get down to business, a volunteer directs traffic: fiction and my first stop, LP records, on the left; nonfiction, CDs and much more to the right, in the sale’s usual Room 116 location.

Heading for the records I spot a friend and fellow record junkie, who semi-jokingly groans upon seeing me enter the room. It’s the competition! But as usual, we end up passing records back and forth if we see something the other might want. The majority of discs at this sale tend to be classical and opera, but you never know what will turn up. That’s the fun part. From a few boxes of rock records I snag a handful of Rory Gallagher LPs, which end up being the score of the day for me, and consider some really clean Nick Lowe albums I don’t really need more copies of.

The possibility of finding just about anything goes double for the thousands of books neatly organized on tables and walls of shelving. Every time I try to take a look at a tantalizing shelf where I can see vintage paperbacks, someone else is there first. However, while perusing the tables of hardcovers I am unable to resist a copy of the 1980s “corrected text” edition of Ulysses.

“Books are donated and volunteers sort them all year long,” says Theune. “It takes a village!” Usually about 60 volunteers can handle the work, but with two rooms of sales this year 100 volunteers were needed. “Some of our older volunteers did not choose to help this time, but we had more students pitch in than ever before.”

The sales are an important fundraiser for the UW-Madison Libraries. Theune reports that the fall 2021 sale grossed $38,000; past sales have usually pulled in around $25,000, and the cumulative total hit a cool $1 million as of the fall 2019 sale. Says Theune: “All the money goes to the UW-Madison Libraries to strengthen collections and bring visibility to the wonderful resource that resides in our community.”

Friends of the UW Memorial Libraries Book Sale by the numbers:

  • Boxes of materials at the fall 2021 sale: About 950
  • Boxes of materials left over at the end: 60
  • Boxes of materials at a typical sale: 500
  • Bob’s number in line on opening day: 66
  • Next sale: #50, March 30-April 2, 2022, UW Memorial Library-Room 116