Readers meet at the 52nd annual OP Book Fair
Book lovers, DVD fans and CD listeners can find their new favorite books at great prices at the Friends of the Oak Park Public Library Book Fair July 12-14 at 834 Lake St.
According to Russ Glidden, president of the Friends of the OPPL board, the local book fair is the largest and longest-running sale of its kind in the Midwest. In 2023, 41,300 books were donated, 23,000 of which were sold and the rest donated.
“Books bring people together,” Glidden said. “This is about bringing the community, the library and the friends together to get books into people’s hands. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
The 52nd annual book fair will be held on July 12 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., July 13 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and July 14 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. From noon to 2 p.m. on July 14, only volunteers can snag free items. In 2023, more than 125 volunteers helped sort and sell books. Individuals from nonprofits, teachers, and Little Free Library owners can also snag free items after volunteering is complete on July 14 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Hardcover books are $2, paperbacks are $1, and bulk paperbacks are 50 cents. Toward the end of the event, anyone is allowed to fill a bag with any items for $10 per bag. Games and puzzles are also available at the fair.
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Volunteers sort donations for the 52nd annual Oak Park Book Fair on June 26, 2024. Credit: Javier Govea -
Russ Glidden, president of the Friends of the Oak Park Public Library, is pictured in the donation area for the annual book fair on June 26, 2024. Credit: Javier Govea -
A collection of sorted donations for the 52nd Annual Oak Park Book Fair will be on display on June 26, 2024. Credit: Luzane Draughon -
Pictured are books for avid readers and first-time buyers alike (June 26, 2024). Credit: Javier Govea
Proceeds from the popular fundraiser support library programs such as the Barbara Ballinger Lecture Series, a folk music series, and in 2023, the new pop-up libraries. Proceeds in 2023 totaled $29,354, up 52% from $19,295 in 2022.
These additional funds were used to purchase a 3D printer and the Litebrite Wall, an interactive and colorful wall for children in the library. The highest sale in 2023 was $502 and was made by a group of men who, according to Glidden, traveled to the Amazon to supply books to schools.
“Our prices are so much better, so their money went much further,” Glidden said.
In 2023, more than 1,500 transactions took place.
The book fair is popular with Oak Park residents, Glidden said, but given the affordable prices and wide selection, visitors often come from other cities and even states. In 2020 and 2021, the book fair was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donations will be accepted in the library community room through June 29. Large donations will be accepted Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the library loading dock in the alley between the library and First United Methodist Church. Donations will be sorted into four categories: children’s books, fiction, nonfiction and for Better World Books.
Donations deemed to be in poor condition or books not accepted for sale, such as textbooks, are donated to BWB, a for-profit social enterprise that sells books online to fund literacy initiatives around the world, according to its website. Any leftover books from the fair are also donated to BWB, Glidden said. In 2023, about 18,000 books were donated to BWB.
This year, August “Augie” Aleksy, owner of the Forest Park bookstore Centuries & Sleuths, donated all the books he had left since the store recently closed. Glidden said there were about 22 boxes, which amounts to about 1,000 to 1,200 books, including a large number of crime and history books, two enticing categories for visitors to the Oak Park book fair.
“People are just fascinated by history,” Glidden said. “If you’re interested in history, you’ll just read everything.”
This year’s fair will also feature an anonymous donation of about 20 boxes, or more than 500 books, of Golden Age science fiction. Science fiction is another popular category, Glidden said.
“People who read science fiction are crazy about it,” Glidden said. “These people just rush to that table, and within the first hour or two it’s decimated.”
However, the best-selling category in 2023 was children’s and young adult books. Certain titles are donated and in demand in large quantities each year, Glidden said, including the Harry Potter series as well as the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series.
For the first time, the 2024 book fair will feature a room dedicated to special books that cost $5 each. These art and architecture books, as well as new hardcovers by popular authors and other collectibles, could retail for $30 to $80, Glidden said.
Print books are still popular with locals and book fair visitors despite inventions like Kindles and other e-readers, Glidden said. That’s partly generational, Glidden said, but all demographics enjoy buying books at the fair. The reasonable prices are also an important factor. Glidden said he owns about 10,000 books himself.
“People in Oak Park are very, very passionate about the book fair because it’s part of Oak Park’s history,” he said. “Oak Park is a more old-fashioned community that holds on to old-fashioned family values. And I think books embody that concept.”
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