Think of this as a three-day blue light special for book lovers. The huge used-book sale sponsored by the
will be held this weekend at the
I always come out of it with a sizeable stack, triggering a fevered negotiation with my wife about why I need more books and where they'll be kept. Proceeds help fund financial aid at the
. Here are excerpts from
For 52 years, Baltimore Smith College Club volunteers have been gathering and selling a yearly haul of about 50,000 used books. They wear pale yellow handmade cotton aprons, sweat shirts and very sensible shoes.
The club's annual three-day literary stampede begins Friday when the first customers swarm the sales tables at a Timonium Fairgrounds exhibition hall. The event is held throughout the weekend and ends April 11, when all that remains is substantially reduced in cost. The final hours, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., feature an all-you-can-carry price of $5. It's a Baltimore bargain-hunters' favorite. (More details on time and place here.)
So where do all these books come from? "People in North Baltimore buy good books and treat them very well," said former Goucher College President Rhoda Dorsey, who is a Smith graduate and former club president. "They donate so much to us, and they are beautiful books." ...
The family of art collector and Smith alumna Ryda Hecht Levi donated her collection of art books to the sale this year. There is a collection donated by a curator at the Walters Art Museum and numerous works of science fiction, as well as comic books. Another donor gave boxes of books related to military history. There are huge sections devoted to fiction, mysteries, history and biography.
Club members adopted a "no-censorship" policy this year and will be offering some works of erotica. "These books were donated to us, and we're just going to put them out for sale," said Anderson.