The Fall Friends of the Library Book Sale opens in Springfield Tuesday night, September 15, with a Friends Night Preview sale. Current members and anyone who purchases a $5 membership at the door may attend. The sale runs through Sunday.
On Monday, an army of volunteers was busy at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds E-Plex, finishing set-up for the event that draws thousands each spring and fall. Susie Peace was hurriedly placing books on a table. She’s volunteered for a few years – ever since her high school librarian told her at a 40th reunion that she should.
"And so, I joined her in setting up the children's books, and I did that for about two years, and I enjoyed working as a cashier and several of the other jobs," she said, "and I got noticed, and somebody said, 'we think we'd like you to start helping in the sorting room.' And soon after, they said, 'we think we'd like you to take over as a section supervisor for somebody who'd got too much on her plate,' so, I came a long way pretty quickly. But, I really just get a kick out of it. I'm amazed by how big it is, how organized it is, how it's going on year-round to get ready for this book sale twice a year, and this whole process is just amazing to me."
Peace is among more than 400 volunteers who work behind and in front of the scenes each sale to make it possible. One volunteer, Joyce Kastler, has volunteered more than 9,000 hours with Friends since 2018.
Volunteer Gay Wilson is president of Friends of the Library. She’s been involved since 2010 after she retired from the Springfield-Greene County Library District.
"I used to be the friends of the library liaison" she said. "I was a librarian, and then I was the go-to person for the friends with the library district."
She remembers when the first sale was held in 1985 in the parking lot of the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library. It’s been held different places since – the Library Center parking lot, North Town Mall, Remington’s. Now it’s at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds’ E-Plex, which has allowed them to expand. She was worried at first that people wouldn’t want to drive that far north but come they did.
"They come from Arkansas and, you know, the surrounding states and throughout the state," she said.
"It's been wonderful. And we've continued to increase our sales, you know, every year."
Work starts soon after each sale to get ready for the next one.
"We're constantly working on the next sale," Wilson said. "There's probably not one day that there isn't someone sorting or hauling books or boxing them up to go in the trailers, except for maybe a few of the holidays. But besides that, there is someone always working to volunteer. And of course, no one's paid."
She said she does it for the love of books and for the people she meets each sale.
"You get to hear the stories of teachers that just, you know, they're buying books for their first classroom. And you have teachers from the Bootheel that they take vacations so they can come up here and buy books for the school, and you hear these wonderful stories," Wilson said. "And that's what brings me back. Of course, I love books and I love the library, but it's the people. Yeah. You see the best of humanity."
It’s lots of hard work to get ready for the sale. Boxes of books are heavy, and they must be loaded onto tractor trailers and then unloaded.
"Boxes of books are not light. And, it's incredible. And to see all of the effort that goes into it. And, you know, we couldn't do it without our volunteers," she said.
Spring sales typically have around seven tractor trailer loads. This fall’s sale has five and a half.
A highlight of this year’s fall sale is a collection of Grateful Dead books that someone donated – about 75% of the books and other items you’ll find are donated by individuals. The rest are culled from library shelves. Donations are always welcome at library branches, and those can include books, albums, CDs, DVDs, games, sheet music, magazines and puzzles.
Wilson said they get some signed books. She remembers one from the recent past.
"I know that we a couple of years ago had a Julia Child first edition signed, and it was, you know, just in perfect condition," she said.
Books like those are in the Better Books section, and those cost more. But there are many books in the general section with very affordable price tags.
The sale is cash or check only.
It starts with a Friends Night Preview Sale from 4 to 8 p.m. Memberships may be purchased at the door for $5 – that’s the same price membership cost when the sales started in 1985. Hours Wednesday through Friday are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday is Half Price Day from 10 to 5, and Sunday is $1 and $5 Bag Day from 1 to 5.
Proceeds go to the library district.
"The library writes grants and asks us for, you know, for whatever they're needing," said Wilson, "and it can be $500,000 for part of Republic (library) or it could be for the summer reading program or for an author visit...they just tell us what they want."
The Friends of the Library awarded $461,364 in grants in 2025 and 2026, according to Wilson.
She said the 2025 Fall Book Sale made $204,739.85. The 2026 Spring Book Sale totaled $216,956.70. After the spring sale was over, Friends had surpassed $6 million in total money made for the library since the sales began in 1985.
Books that aren’t sold by the end of the day Sunday are recycled through a company in Republic.
