JEFFERSON — If you have some loose change in the cup holder of your car, you may be days away from buying your next favorite book.

As has become tradition, Jefferson Friends of the Library is gearing up for its annual book sale, with proceeds benefiting the Jefferson Public Library.

The sale is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Jefferson Civic Center, librarian Amy Carlan said.

“Before the sale, it takes a lot of heavy lifting and organizing to get everything together,” Carlan said. “Thankfully we have volunteers from the community, Friends of the Library and the Jefferson Woman’s Club, to help out.”

The sale will feature all genres of books in both hardback and paperback form.

“We will also be selling baked goods and coffee,” said Beth Laughinghouse, Mainstreet Jefferson program manager. “So you can settle in a corner if you want with a snack and a good book — after you’ve bought the book of course.”

From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, the already bargain prices will be slashed in half. But even with bargain prices, the fundraiser does its job.
“We raised around $6,000 last year, so it would be nice to hit that again,” said Nancy Solie, the group’s president.

The organization uses money from fundraisers to support the library’s offerings and future plans.

“Our long-term goal is getting a larger facility for the library,” Solie said. “Ideally, we’d like to have a new facility in three to five years, but that really depends on the economy in many ways.”

At a time when Jefferson officials have been asked to save budgeted money, fundraisers for the library allow it to continue offering community events and summer programming.

“I’ve lived in New York, and I’ve seen better funded libraries. But (Jefferson’s library) is really one of the best that I’ve seen,” Solie said. “The returns from service are far greater than what’s being put in, which is really a reflection of the hard work of (Carlan) and her staff.”