KENT, Conn. — A summer-long tradition that continues to grow in popularity is about to kick off in town.
Kent Memorial Library’s annual Book Sale at will open Memorial Day weekend and run through the summer.
The sale will open Friday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will continue Saturday through Monday, May 24-26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting.
Following opening weekend, the sale will be open Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. into October, depending on the weather. The library advises shoppers to check its website or call 860-927-3761 to confirm hours.
The outdoor sale will feature a wide variety of books, including current best sellers, mysteries, biographies, art history and more. Books will be sorted by category on nearly just fewer than 40 6- and 8-foot tables.
In addition, an expanded section of jigsaw puzzles will be available at the 32 N. Main St. library.
Eric Cieplik, who is a member of the library board and a book sale manager, described the environment as friendly, with shoppers and volunteers connecting through casual conversations about books, authors, and topics.
“Say someone has a book by Ray Bradbury and they ask if you have read anything else by him, and then you get into a discussion with three other people,” Cieplik said. “We’re book people.”
Kent Library Association’s car raffle won’t be offered during this year’s book sale. Instead, the Great Gift Card Giveaway will be held in its place, with the top three prizes being $1,500, $1,000, and $500 (see sidebar, below).
The book sale is a “really big fundraiser” for the library, one that is “important to our bottom line,” said Library Director Sarah Marshall. “It goes to our operating budget. It literally keeps the lights on.”
The sale can, in a good year, gross about $70,000, Marshall noted. Funds are secured through the mulit-month sale of books at the library, as well as through the online sales of an assortment of unique books on Ebay.
The event draws local shoppers as well as those from out of town and out of state.
“It’s a big tourism draw … being outside and talking to people,” Marshall said. “People come from all over the country but mostly Connecticut and the region.”
“But it’s also very popular among the locals who show up every weekend or every other weekend,” the director said.
Cieplik related one repeat customer travels from England and brings an extra suitcase just for book purchases. “She jokes she comes to see family, but it’s really for the book sale,” he said.
Many shoppers purchase books, read them, and then donate them back to the library (see sidebar, below) to resell again at the book sale, according to Cieplik, who with his wife, Elise, has helped with the book fair for 18 years.
Many book sale patrons not only attend the fundraiser, but also explore other activities around town, including the many shops, art galleries and eateries.
A team of about 40 volunteers work together to make the book sale happen. A core group is on hand and substitutes are on backup to cover roles as needed.
“The biggest part of the book sale are the volunteers,” Cieplik said. “We couldn’t do it without them. They all have a category, such as history, cookbooks, etc. Everyone kind of gets involved with something they really like.”
Some of the volunteers focus on sorting through the donations to find treasures to sell on Ebay.
“We have a team of people that go through donations and pull out particular things,” Marshall related. “It means we take advantage of all donations – and we get some pretty incredible stuff.”
Marshall recalled a set of encyclopedias from the early 20th century in the year the English set was first published in America. It garnered $900.
Other unique finds available online, are “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau (Heritage Press, Illustrated, 1939, HC, Slipcase; “The Home Bartender’s Guide and Song Book” by Charlie Roe & Jim Schwenck (1930); and “The Mysterious Stranger: a Romance” by Mark Twain (first edition).
To explore Ebay books, visit https://www.ebay.com/usr/kentct-library.
The book sale’s roots go back decades, stemming from a community MayFair event that was held at either the Kent Community House or on the front lawn of the library. In 2008, the library acquired the property and firehouse next door when the Kent Volunteer Fire Department built a new firehouse around the corner. With the extra space, the sale expanded exponentially.
Since then, long tables covered with books fill up the driveway in front of the former firehouse. When the sale isn’t open, passersby can easily spot the blue tarps that cover the tables.
Substitute cashiers for two shifts — 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 5 p.m. — are needed. Interested individuals should call the library at 860-927-3761.
The 2025 Great Gift Card Giveaway
The library’s annual raffle is just as popular as the book sale.
This year, however, in lieu of a car as the raffle prize, three gift card prizes will be awarded as part of the Great Gift Card Giveaway.
The winner of a $1,500, $1,000, and $500 prize can select any Kent business or local charity or organization as a vendor.
For example, the $500 prize could be used as payment to a Kent plumber, or other business, or donated to a local charity.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by contacting the library at 860-927-3761.
The drawing will be held Sunday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m. at Kent Town Hall, 41 Kent Green Blvd. Ticket holders do not need to be present to win.
Donations accepted
Donations to the sale will be accepted through at least August, according to 20-year volunteer Jon Lafleur.
Book donations must be in good selling condition. In addition, CDs, DVDs and jigsaw puzzles are permitted.
Lafleur emphasized the need for donations to particular categories of books to be relevant and current.
For examples, books on business and investing have to be “fairly new, ideally this side of the pandemic,” Lafleur said.
Books about hotels and restaurants, and health must also be current.
Books that will not be accepted are: those that have been stored in an unheated space such as a barn, garage, attic, or basement (they tend to have an odor); old novels from the 1950-90s unless they have special value, such as a classic or first edition, are of local interest, etc.; outdated nonfiction with information that is no longer relevant (such as travel guides, legal advice, finance, education, medical, etc.) unless they have special value; magazines; VHS tapes, cassette tapes, and records; books in poor condition with rips, stains, or missing covers; Reader’s Digest Condensed Books; encyclopedias and dictionaries.
For more information about book donations, call 860-927-3761.
