(This letter is in response to the June 5 editorial item “Literary Leanings,” published in AnnArbor.com.)

Another measure of Ann Arbor’s love affair with books might be the several used bookstores located here, including the Friends Book Shop in the lower level of the downtown Library. This Ann Arbor treasure, created 31 years ago by Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library, accepts donations of around 200,000 books annually.

Through the efforts of over a hundred volunteers who sort, categorize, evaluate, research, stock the shelves, and sell the merchandise, each year these donations turn into $100,000 or more of support for programs at the Ann Arbor District Library.

Books are thus made available for other readers and kept out of our recycling bins and landfills. Prices normally range from $2 for hardcovers and trade paperbacks, to 50 cents for smaller paperbacks, but currently our half-price sale is in effect every Saturday in June and July from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Friends Book Shop helps Ann Arborites express their literary inclinations without breaking their banks!

Rae Ann Weymouth
Friends Book Shop manager
Ann Arbor