Avid readers and music lovers of all ages will have wide-ranging choices when the 71st annual Case Western Reserve University Book Sale opens to the public Saturday, June 3, running through Tuesday, June 6, in Adelbert Gym.
More than 80,000 reading and 8,000 listening treasures go on sale during the event, sponsored by the Association for Continuing Education (ACE) at Case Western Reserve University.
Revenue from the sale supports ACE’s continuing education programs and special events, according to 2017 book sale co-directors Sandy Melzer and Wanda Ullman.
Both organizers are self-professed book lovers and retired educators with larger goals than just sales: “We want to pass along our joy of reading to the greater public and find homes for good books,” Ullman said. “We want to see these books in the hands of someone who loves to read.”
With a $20 admission fee, early-bird shoppers can browse and buy from 10 a.m. to noon, before the free-admission public event begins at noon, Saturday, June 3.
The sale continues with the following special bargains:
- Sunday, June 4, noon to 5 p.m.: Shoppers with a postcard or internet coupon receive $5 off the first $15
- Monday, June 5, noon to 5 p.m.: reduced-price day
- Tuesday, June 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: $5 per box day
Book and music lovers have a large selection of choices, including fiction, literature, foreign languages, fine arts, religion and philosophy, social sciences, sciences, politics and history, children’s books and travel.
The sale also features ephemera, media (CDs, DVDs and vinyl records), cookbooks, crafts, gardening, business and technology.
A “booktique” features rare and old books, along with contemporary signed first editions.
Highlights of 2017 sale
There are more than 8,000 LP vinyl records (some as low as 50 cents), spanning the musical eras of the 1930s to 1970s. Donated by a private collector, the collection includes classical, comedy, country, folk, jazz, marches, movies-television-theater, rock ’n roll and more. The music department also has CDs, DVDs and sheet music.
The Cleveland Museum of Art donated a wide variety of art books and exhibition catalogs from its library. The books are in excellent condition.
A used bookstore, recently closed, donated 5,000 books.
A special donation of books on ancient Rome and Greece came from a retired distinguished Case Western Reserve art historian.
Children’s books are priced low (25 cents for paperbacks and $1 for hardcovers) to make as many as possible available.
Readers will find bargains in fiction with paperbacks for $1 and hardbacks from $2.50 to $4.
A “Booktique” table will showcase rare and signed first-edition books in this year’s donations. For example, rare offerings will vary from a 1894, two-volume set of The Three Musketeers to Garfield at 25, signed by Jim Davis, the popular comic cat’s creator.
For information, call the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program office at 216.368.2090 or visit acesite.org/book-sale/.