The $1 book sale that's sending students to college

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — If you think our technology-driven, rolling, scrolling digital world has turned people away from the printed page, please take your eyes off your phone and look around you. Standing inside the 69th AAUW Used Book Sale, you'll see real, feel-able books to the right of you, the left of you, and down at your feet. They're all for sale for $1 or $2, and they are flying out the doors!

Members of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) have been hosting this sale for decades to raise money for scholarships and educational programs. And they are good at it.

But it is no small feat. It is back-breaking work.

They collect donated books, puzzles, and games almost year-round. They sometimes store them in their car trunks and garages. They examine them for marketability and sort them into dozens of genres. They transport them into a temporary sale site. They set up tables and neatly stack the books for sale. Then they put on their blue aprons and name tags, open the doors to book buyers for five days, and hope there is nothing left to pack into boxes and haul away when it's all over. Whew!

AAUW Buffalo Chapter President-elect Pat Miceli calls all this a 'labor of love' to help students in Western New York attend college. She says, "Even in this day of TV, computer games, and now AI, people still love books."

Buffalo author Alice Loweecey was filling a bag with books to buy, including the very first novel she wrote: "Force of Habit." She discovered it for sale in the mystery section. It was just $1, but why buy one of her own books?

Loweecey, author of 12 novels, said she often gives her books to friends.

"There's no better feeling than holding your own book in your hand. I love it when people read my books, no matter what," she said.

Judy Clare has been an AAUW book sale volunteer for some 50 years. She's the matriarch of the "Specialty Books" section, where more valuable and collectible books reside. She still marvels at the interest in her corner of the sale site. Almost every book there has a story to tell -- whether it was donated from the collection of a well-known local college professor, or contains a touching inscription written decades ago in flowing ink.

She watched a book dealer from Central New York pick through her collectible section Wednesday and pull out $3,000 worth of books to take home and sell. Thursday, she watched a woman stack up $1,000 in books that the woman declared were just for her because she loves reading.

In her half century of matching well-loved books with well-read book lovers, Judy has heard every dire prediction about books fading into the digital oblivion. But, she says, not so fast.

"Times do change, but people still love books. I can't see the future, but I can't see books disappearing," she said.

The AAUW book sale is still open Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 425 Essjay Rd. in Williamsville. Admission is $1.

Final sale day is Sunday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Bring a grocery bag and fill it with books for just $5.

Find information about the book sale and scholarships at the AAUW website.