2020 BOOK SALE CANCELLED

The Friends of the Plano Public Library have announced the cancellation of the 2020 Book Sale, citing the health and safety of shoppers and volunteers.   

“We’re very disappointed to have to cancel this popular event, but our first priority is the health and safety of our shoppers as well as the volunteers who set up and service the sale,” said Scott Johnson, President of the Friends. “We anticipate the pandemic will be safely under control in time for the Book Sale in 2021.”

The annual sale, which was scheduled for the last weekend of July, represents the largest fundraiser for the volunteer organization, providing a significant portion of the up to $150,000 the Friends contribute each year for Plano Public Library programs, acquisitions, professional staff development and outreach activities. Since the group’s founding, the Friends’ contributions have totaled more than $2 million to the Plano Library. Proceeds from the 2019 sale enabled the Friends organization to contribute $127,000 to 2020 programs. As the largest such sale in the suburban Dallas area, the Book Sale in Plano has drawn hundreds of book lovers, teachers and used book resellers from throughout north Texas to the Plano Event Center each year.

One of the most visible signs of the Friends’ contributions is the #morethanbooks Library Outreach Van, paid for by money raised by the Friends in 2018. The popular blue van is a fixture at festivals and other gatherings in Plano. Other contributions have included the popular STEAM kits that were initially funded by the Friends.  Most recently, the Friends funded a pilot of the Library’s e-newspapers program, providing greater access to news from around the country for patrons of the Plano Public Library.

Once the library re-opens its buildings to patrons, the Friends encourage donations of used books that will allow the group to resume used book sales in Library lobbies, another key source of fundraising for the organization.  (Currently, the Plano library buildings are not open; access to materials is provided through online reservations and curbside pickup.  Electronic lending of eBooks, audio books, magazines and newspapers is continuing through the Library’s app and website.)