Preparations are in progress for American Association University Women’s biggest book sale yet. After collecting donations since May of last year, the sale has hit a new record of number of books. Over 80,000 books are organized in the Hibbing Armory, and not a single one has been bought yet.

The sale started as a single table outside K-Mart, with only a few books. Since then, the book sale has been held for 52 years and now fills the armory with organized donations. The proceeds collected from the sale fund scholarships and donations.

Scholarships are given to the local high schools and Minnesota North College in Hibbing. They are also given for the National American Association University Women alongside community donations. Most of the books are gone each year as they are sold at inexpensive prices.

The event is on April 4th, 5th, and 6th. Doors open at 9:30-8 pm on Friday, 9:30-5 pm on Saturday, and 9:30-2 pm on Sunday. Books are a dollar apiece Friday, 50 cents on Saturday, and a bag for two dollars on Sunday. Some bundles or original prints may vary.

Community comes together for the book sale

Many working hands helped host the book sale, as preparing the armory started only a week before the event. Each book that came in is organized by people who have been working for days to make sure that when someone comes, they can find the book they are looking for.

Barb Wojciak, Chair of the Book Sale, said, many different organizations help with the event. “The American Association of University Women, so our members are here. But then we’re very fortunate that Key Club, Youth in Action, and Nashua Kiwatin Honor Society, and the Boy Scouts of Troop 1 come and help us”

People volunteer to organize and sort each one of the 80,000+ books to make the armory feel like any other bookstore. There are even some bookstore owners from the Northland who will visit to buy books for their shop. One of the sorters spoke on why she kept coming back to help each year.

“You see somebody come in that finds the one book they’ve been looking for and they come to the table to buy it, and they’re just almost giddy talking about it,” said Stephanie Rancourt. “They have to share their story. Another thing I love is when you find things in the sorting tables here that you haven’t seen in years. They’re out of print, and you find something there.”