Were you one of the contented bibliophiles leaving the library sale this summer with a dreamy grin, loaded to the gills with piles of new-found books, perhaps to the dismay of your spouse? If so, then it’s time to clear some space on your shelves.

The upcoming winter book sale on Saturday, Feb. 20 is a time for book readers and library lovers alike to support their local library. This year’s annual Friends of the Orcas Island Library winter book sale will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the public school cafeteria. Last year’s fair raised $3,025 for the library, and organizer Ulanah McCoy hopes to up the ante this year, with even more shoppers and more homeless tomes passed into good hands.

What floats your fancy? Northwest Native American artwork? Yoga videos? The latest in the Twilight series? A raw food cookbook? Archaeology on Easter Island? Haiku? The beauty of the book sale is that you never know what you’re going to find. And because secondhand bookstore owners Doug and Ida Rae McDonald buy up the remainder from each sale, every six months the Friends can put out an entirely fresh batch for your perusing pleasure.

“We have thousands of high-quality books in every category or interest that you might have,” says McCoy.

The event will offer something for everyone: fiction, science, history, cookbooks, nature, philosophy, religion, how-to manuals, CDs and DVDs, books on tape, and lots of kids books. The books will be organized by genre.

Each fall, the Orcas Island Library board submits a funding request to the Friends board, detailing specific needs or projects they would like to see supported. The board reviews and discusses these requests and then presents a check at the Christmas Library Tea celebration. Forty percent of this year’s grants will be put toward the book collection, and the remainder will support the Crossroads lecture series, computer equipment, increased shelving, and programs. McCoy says book sale revenue reduces the need for taxation to supply library funding.

Book prices run from $1 to $2, with special deals if you buy three. DVDs, VHS, tapes and CDs are 50 cents. Kids books cost 25 or 50 cents.

“It’s really because of public support that we have one of the better libraries in the state,” says Friends board secretary Jean Soderquist. “That’s why we offer really great deals on good books.”

Volunteers with trucks

On Friday, Feb. 19, from 2 to 4 p.m. the Friends need volunteers with a truck or two to help move about 80 boxes of books from their North Beach storage unit to the school cafeteria. Pizza will be provided Friday night for the set-up crew. Volunteers without trucks are also welcome, either for set up or for clean up immediately after the sale.