DIANE MAKAR MURPHY Time for another chapter in Westminster's book sale

Stuffing as many books as possible into a brown paper bag, an effort to maximize a $1 expenditure, is an art form. I practice it once a year at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Boardman. Their book sale is set for April 25 to 27, and I'm itching to get packing again.
This is not your ordinary book sale, as anyone who has attended one of the church's 45 annual extravaganzas will attest. On the first day, people begin lining up as early as 6:30 in the morning waiting for the three entry doors to open simultaneously at 9 a.m. From there, they peruse the 50,000 to 60,000 books and magazines, which fill a small auditorium, a stage, the hallway and three rooms, one of which also houses the church's boiler.
According to Barbara Allen, who has volunteered at the book sale for the last 40 years, 25 to 30 volunteers work throughout the year to prepare. They meet at least once a month, and "this time of year, once a week," Allen said.
"The third Monday of each month, the men set up tables, and the books are sorted, cleaned, priced and boxed from 9 a.m. to noon," she said.
Sources: Books are donated by estates or dropped off outside on the church porch. "We used to pick them up with a van," Allen said, "but people just came to know us and started dropping them off."
Textbooks, hardbacks and paperbacks are among the offerings. Periodicals by the hundreds sit in boxes in the hallway. Sheet music and even record albums will fill at least one table. (I found a wonderful piano book of 1940s hits one year -- all yellow and crumbling, but still as bluesy as they were 60 years ago.)
One room has religious books, children's books, fiction and rare and unusual books. ("Little Dog Toby" came off that pile, complete with an inscription written by a little girl who probably is a grandmother by now.)
Sports, nonfiction, biography, travel, computers, psychology, money, science -- all are represented. Tables are stacked with poetry and literature books. Mysteries, science fiction and books of humor and art can be found. Those who long for offline encyclopedias will find entire sets.
For a time, my shelves bulged with books I bought at Westminster about hobbies I thought I would find time for (but never did) -- photography, crocheting, home decorating and more. There are even old yearbooks and county histories.
Among the biggest sellers are cookbooks, Allen said. But she's sure buyers don't use them all, because "they buy them by the armload!"
Revenue: In just three days, the book sale brings in $12,000 to $15,000. "It's hard work all year, but it's lots of fun," Allen said.
A small percentage of the proceeds goes to buy things for the church -- one year, it went for draperies; another year, for furniture, according to Allen. The rest is donated to area charities, including Protestant Family Services, Rescue Ministries, Needles Eye, Fish Samaritan House, Interstate Home Maintenance, Medical Benevolence, Hope House and Habitat for Humanity.
She said books are priced anywhere from 20 cents -- "so children can buy books with their own money" -- to $5 or so. After 4 p.m. the last day, bargain hunters are invited to fill a paper bag for $1.
When the doors close, the items that remain are boxed up and donated to Youngstown State University which uses them for their own fund-raiser, Allen said. Then, in May, the Westminster volunteers start collecting books all over again.
Beginnings: It was parishioner Hazel Thorne who began the book sale almost a half-century ago. After visiting a college and being impressed by its book sale, Allen said, Thorne brought the idea to her church, then located in downtown Youngstown.
"That first sale had 2,000 books," Allen said.
I wondered whether Allen's house is overflowing with books she acquired at the sales. "My bookshelves are filled with books I want, but I try not to buy any more," she said.
"But do you always come home with a few?" I pressed.
She laughed. "Yes," she said. "My husband clears them out once in a while, though. I know, because I sometimes find my books at the sale!"
The sale is set for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 25 and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 26 and 27 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 119 Stadium Drive, Boardman.