By John Smyntek
And the used book sales just keep on coming!
The Friends of the Rochester Hills Public Library inaugurated its new second floor used book sale facility at its summer sale in August with “great attendance and lots of positive feedback about our new setup,” according to Friends Book sale chair Ann Gruenewald.
And with autumn fast on the horizon, the Friends Fall sale is now set for September 23 – 27. In the future, the sales will be more spread out – one every three months. The summer sale was later than usual because of the move into the new sale quarters at the expanded facility at 500 Olde Towne Road in downtown Rochester. New racks and sorting by topic makes shopping and browsing much more convenient.
Except for a few higher quality items that are priced individually, all hardcover and large softcover books are $1, paperbacks and children’s books are 50 cents. Also available are many DVDs, CDs, books on CD, and VHS tapes that are also inexpensively priced.

The new Friends of the Library used book sale area is located on the upper level, currently they have three sales per year open to the public – photo by Michael Dwyer
The order of sale follows the usual pattern. The first day is a Presale for members of the Friends group, the library’s donor support arm. They get first look at the stock of an estimated 35,000-40,000 items on September 23 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Memberships (individual $20; family $35; Student/Senior $10) may be purchased that evening at the door. For more info on the value of a Friends membership to go www.rhpl.org and click on the Friends tab.
The general sale to the public is Thursday, September 24 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The sale closes on Sunday, September 27 from 1:30-4:30 p.m. It is the popular Bag Day, where buyers can fit anything that fits into a grocery bag for $5.00.
Proceeds go to the Friends, which is the library’s prime non-public support group and is dedicated to promoting a closer relationship between the library and its constituents through fund raising and special events.
Information on the sale and membership in the Friends group is available at 248-650-7178 or via the internet at www.rhpl.org and click on the Friends’ tab.