Photo

Submitted by Matt Moynihan, Friends of the Menlo Park Library.

More than 30,000 volumes of bargain-priced books will go on sale Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 16, at the Menlo Park Library's annual Book Fair at the main library in the Civic Center.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Menlo Park Library, the Book Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day on the library lawn at 800 Alma St., near the intersection of Ravenswood Avenue and Laurel Street in Menlo Park.

The annual Book Fair, one of the largest and definitely the oldest of any library on the Peninsula, features thousands of volumes of gently used books.

Prices start at 50 cents, and most books are available for $2 and under. On Sunday, starting at 10 a.m., all books are offered at half price and customers can purchase a bag from the Friends for just $5 and fill it to the brim with books on sale.

The Book Fair, expected to draw hundreds from all the Bay Area, offers titles in all genres, including mystery, romance, science fiction, fiction and nonfiction. There are hardbacks, trade paperbacks and mass market books, ranging from prize-winning literature and poetry to cookbooks and biographies.

There will be art books, coffee table books, travel, foreign language, self-help, medical, and health volumes. There will be religious and spiritual books, psychology, business and economic books, history, math and science, and computer books.

The fair will offer a broad assortment of children's books, including hard cover picture books for younger children, as well as fiction and nonfiction for children and teens.

All books have been donated to the Friends of the Library, and all proceeds go to support the programs and collections of the Menlo Park Library.

For collectors and other treasure hunters, there will be about 400 volumes on sale at the Menlo Park Council Chambers, adjacent to the library lawn. "These are specially selected books that include first editions, old books dating back to the 1800s, and books by well-known illustrators," said Friends volunteer Jackie Drew. Of note is a leather-bound set, "One Hundred of the Greatest Books Ever Written" from Easton Press. The books at the special sale are priced in the range of $5 to $25. People can preview these books in the Menlo Park Library display windows in the lobby.

Auction
The biennial book auction -- both silent and oral versions -- returns this year. Written bids may be made on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The oral auction begins at 2 p.m. The auctioneer is Bruce MacMakin of Pacific Book Auction Galleries in San Francisco.

Among the items of special interest at the auction are:
■ Three volumes of the Limited Editions Club -- Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid, in slipcases.
■ Charles Schulz' "Charlie Brown's Christmas," 1965, signed by the author.
■ John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row," 1945, 1st edition, 2nd printing before publication.
■ An 1841 book, "Sketches of the Fair Sex In All Parts of the World."

There are many older children's books as well as interesting volumes on history, biography, literature, science, art and other categories.

The Book Fair is driven by a small group of volunteers. About 25 people work year-round to sort and select the books, but it takes more than 100 volunteers to run the fair. This year, City Council members and library commissioners will pitch in.

In 2011, the Book Fair raised more than $21,000.

"The funds that the Friends raise through the Book Fair supplement and enrich Menlo Park's collections and programs," said Susan Holmer, library director. "The Summer Reading Program prizes, performances and activities are all supported through the contributions of the Friends, so this year more than 850 kids and adults directly benefited from this gift by the Friends."

Money raised at this event will also support the Project Read literacy programs, new books for the library's collections, and special library equipment.

The Friends of the Menlo Park Library has been supporting the Menlo Park Library since 1952, when the first Book Fair took place. The volunteers work year-round, benefiting the Main and Belle Haven libraries through its sponsorships of library activities.

Over the past 30 years, the Friends have raised more than $2 million to support the library's collections and services. In recent years, the Friends donated $100,000 to the major renovation of the Children's Department.

Those who can't make it to the Book Fair but who want to buy books and support the library can find bargain books every day in the Friends Bookstore, which is restocked daily and located in the library lobby. A series of mini book sales take place in March, June and December, and there's an online store as well. Visit www.friendsmpl.org for more information.

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