The 58th annual Walla Walla Chapter of American Association of University Women Book Sale will be Feb. 24-26 at The Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center, 6 W. Rose St.
Sale hours for the fundraiser are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
AAUW member Diane Reed discovered that during its inaugural run in April 1964, AAUW called the sale a book fair.
Held downtown, it offered a huge variety of old, used, funny and history books, Reed said.
In earlier days, members of Girl Scout and Campfire Girl troops helped collect book donations, said book sale chairwoman Kay Raddatz.
At first, proceeds supported fellowships at the national level. That changed in the late 1970s when the Walla Walla chapter decided to fund community projects and scholarships for local women.
About 40,000 high-quality paperback and hardback fiction, nonfiction, audio and children’s books, DVDs and CDs, as well as collectibles, are featured at the sale.
“The books are organized into 40 well-marked categories, including fiction, history, cookbooks, self-help, biographies, military history, western fiction, religion, art, science fiction, local history, sports, animals and many more,” Raddatz said.
Fiction books, except western fiction, have been placed in divisions of the alphabet and popular authors’ works are grouped together.
Several categories have been subdivided: biographies, the largest number in the collection, are broken into celebrities, U.S. presidents, political figures and families, British, authors and scientists/medical.
Music CDs have sections on classical/instrumental/jazz, sound tracks, Christmas, children’s, Christian, country and others.
As reported on Jan. 8 in the Union-Bulletin at bit.ly/3QVeQa3, the donation of a lifetime collection by one comics lover also will be featured.
The estimated 50 boxes of early- and mid-20th-century books describing funny pages, art and its history, and books with collections of comics are included. Newspaper comic characters such as Prince Valiant, the Phantom, Terry and the Pirates and Dick Tracy are among the collections that will be sold in the Collectibles section, priced at $8 and up.
Less valuable comics will be placed in the Science Fiction section, and the books of comic strips, like Garfield, will be in the Humor section, Raddatz said. Prices will be $2.50 for paperbacks and $4 for hardbacks.
The very large selection of science fiction/fantasy books, graphic novels and manga is about 2,000 titles, including classics, Star Wars, Star Trek, and fun books related to TV, movies and computer games.
Also featured will be women science fiction authors, such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey.
The very popular young adult category will have more than 1,500 titles. Young adult books, for 12- to 18-year-olds, have more adult themes than children’s chapter books, such as “Harry Potter.” The Goosebumps series are chapter books.
Prices range from 50 cent to $4 for most items; sheet music is 50 cents, picture books and CDs are $1, $1.00, DVDs $2, paperbacks $2.50, hardbacks $4, audio books $4.
Collectibles are priced individually.
Credit and debit cards, check or cash payments will be accepted.
Children 14 and younger each receive one free book of their choosing from the picture or chapter book categories.
Generous donations mean the two categories will have an unusually large number of books this year, Raddatz said.
Collectible books begin at $6.
Paper bags will be available for shoppers every day of the sale, but shoppers are encouraged to bring their own bags on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, when books are $15 per bag, the paper bags must be used, to ensure shoppers’ bags are the same size. People may transfer their books to their own bags on Sunday after they check out.
Book donation drop boxes in Walla Walla are located at Wheatland Bakery, 1828 E. Isaacs Ave.; Southgate Center Market, formerly Harvest Foods, 905 S. Second Ave.; Grocery Outlet, 910 S. Ninth Ave.; and in the alley behind the YWCA Walla Walla, 213 S. First Ave.; in Milton-Freewater at Fry’s True Value hardware, 175 S. Main St.; and in College Place at Andy’s Market, 1117 S. College Ave.
Call 509-386-0421 or 360-670-7629 to have large donations picked up.
“The Book Sale continues to be grateful for the community’s generous donations,” Raddatz said.
AAUW’s mission is advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research.
In the past 17 years, AAUW Walla Walla has given away more than $150,000 in local scholarships to high school women in various programs and women returning to college.
It has also given $147,367 in mini-grants to more than 45 local educational programs and events, including The Health Center, Impact, Early Learning Coalition, The Little Theatre of Walla Walla in scholarships for children, St. Basil’s Academy, Shakespeare Walla Walla for its anti-bullying program, Carnegie Picture Lab, Camp Invention, Walla Walla Police Department for domestic violence books, Lincoln High School, Christian Aid Center, Girl Scouts, Hope Street, STAR Project, Walla Walla Public Schools 21st Century After School Programs, Learning for Life Post 311 Latino Club service projects, Carnegie Picture Lab, YMCA, Walla Walla Crime Watch, CASA/Court-Appointed Special Advocates, Head Start, College Place Explorer Post, Community Resilience Initiative, Catholic Charities, Children’s Home Society, Walla Walla Public Library, Blue Mountain Action Council, Walla Walla County 4-H Leaders Council, Fort Walla Walla Museum and the YWCA.
Visit AAUW Book Sale Walla Walla on Facebook for postings on book sale facts and happenings. For more information go to aauwwallawalla.org. To apply for AAUW college scholarships, visit the Blue Mountain Community Foundation website at bluemountainfoundation.org.
Full disclosure: I am a member of the Walla Walla Branch of AAUW.
