Get Involved
Shop a sale, donate books, or volunteer. Together, we turn gently used books into added support for the Orange County Public Library.
September 17: FOCPL Members will have a special preview (purchase) opportunity on the evening of Thursday, September 17.
September 18-19: Join us for our Fall book sale in the main library’s community room.
September 20: Shop early, but come back Sunday afternoon with your bags for ‘Bag Day’!
Friends members shop first at the preview. Not a member yet? Join today.
The Friends hold several large book sales each year in the Main Library Community Room in Hillsborough, usually Friday through Sunday with a members-only preview on Thursday evening.
Proceeds support library programs, equipment, staff development, and other needs.
Friends members shop early at a special preview, usually held the evening before the sale opens to the public.
Become a MemberYou do not have to wait for a sale. Browse our year-round shelf of gently used books inside the Main Library whenever the library is open.
Come in the front doors and look to the right.
Book sales run on volunteers: sorting donations, setting up, helping shoppers, running checkout, and taking down afterward. Everyone is welcome, member or not, and volunteers take home free books after each shift.
Choose a Volunteer ShiftHardbacks $3, paperbacks $2, children's books $1 or less, with prices dropping as the weekend goes on. Coffee-table and specially priced books are marked.
Fill a standard grocery bag with books for $7. Bring your own bag, take a free plastic one, or buy a reusable Friends bag at the sale.
Cash, credit, and debit cards are all accepted at checkout.
Teachers and school-age children, teens included, pick three free books on any sale day, and there is a free bin of books for little ones by the door.
We gratefully accept books we can resell. Condition matters most: a book should be clean, complete, and ready for someone else to take home.
Donation drop-off is open.
Small donations (one or two boxes or bags): bring them to the front desk at the Main Library or the Southern Branch during library hours. Please do not leave donations outside the building or put them in the library's return bins. Anything larger than a couple of boxes: contact us first, since storage at the library is limited.
Condition is the most important factor: clean pages, sound covers, nothing missing.
Please recycle books that are moldy, wet, or heavily damaged rather than bringing them to the Friends. It saves our volunteers considerable sorting and disposal work.
Usable books we cannot take? Consider these options:
Please check with an organization before leaving a large donation.
For estate collections, several boxes of books, or other large donations, contact us before bringing anything to the library. Storage there is limited, so we will confirm what we can accept and arrange a drop-off time.
Diane Decker
Book Sale Coordinator
Email the Book Sale CoordinatorA donated book finds a new reader, and the proceeds help the library do more.
