The Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Book Sale opened on Friday, July 10. Ticket sales for the capped attendance began at noon, and the Friends quickly met their cap of 250 attendees.

This year, the Friends celebrated the milestone 50th anniversary book sale by discounting Friday’s tickets by 50%. Book resellers, dealers, and lovers flooded Reed Intermediate School to scope out the 100,000+ books and other items for sale. Come Tuesday, July 14, the massive sale area was nearly emptied of books and other items.

Between the second and third day of the sale, at least 1,600 people went through the school's main entrance — and this did not count the people who rushed in on Monday and Tuesday. Nancy Dvorin, president of Friends of the C.H. Booth Library, and Denise Kaiser, chairperson of the Book Sale, were glad to see everyone come to the sale and celebrate reading and literacy. The two were unsure of the farthest traveler, but shared that a book dealer from Pennsylvania had returned. Others traveled from New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey for the annual event, they said.

Dvorin said this year was “fantastic.” Volunteers wore special shirts and buttons commemorating the 50th book sale, and First Selectman Bruce Walczak read a proclamation recognizing the hard work of the Friends.

“We were very honored that First Selectman Walczak came and addressed our group on Saturday morning,” Dvorin said. “He got here early, he spent time talking with the volunteers, he spent time walking around. And he brought with him a proclamation honoring our 50th anniversary … and it was just, it was very nice for our volunteers to get that recognition.”

Kaiser also sang the praises of the volunteers, recognizing the hard work they put in and the difficulty this year posed for them.

For about nine months, the Friends were displaced from C.H. Booth Library and their sorting room due to HVAC construction. The Friends accepted donations on Wednesdays and Saturdays at their off-site storage location on Old Farm Road, adjacent to the dog park. The move and limited drop-off times not only affected the number of books they were able to collect for the sale, but deeply impacted the morale of the volunteers. Often times, the volunteers were exposed to the harsh winter Newtown experienced earlier this year and were left without restrooms.

“My concern is always how the volunteers rise to the occasion. And they definitely, yet again, went above and beyond, after being challenged for so many months. They somehow dug deep and found the energy to do another book sale. And one of the things that feeds that energy is the response from the public,” Kaiser said.

Dvorin and Kaiser both shared that many customers thanked them for doing the book sale again and talked about how much they love the library and its offerings.

“It was good to get positive feedback after the year we had,” Dvorin said.

The challenges the volunteer group faced did not impact the overall takeaway, though. Kaiser said she was expecting to take a bigger hit due to the lower supply of items, but the preliminary numbers are “very encouraging.”

The specials room, run by John Renjilian, did well, according to Kaiser. The items featured in the preview article ("Booth Book Sale Turns 50: 500-Year-Old Book, A P.T. Barnum Signature, And So Much More At 2026 Friends Of The C.H. Booth Library Annual Book Sale," June 26, 2026) all sold, as did many others from the special collection.

As always, the children’s books went the most and the fastest. Fiction, surprisingly, had the most books leftover. By Tuesday’s free day, however, the shelves were picked clean. At least 300 people visited the Trades Lane location within the first hour of the sale's final day, scooping up what they could and leaving with giant bags and boxes bursting with books and other items.

Meagan Warnock, PTA president for Reed, highlighted another way the Friends help the town’s youth. At the end of the sale, the Friends donate any leftover books for Reed’s free book swap.

“They give us so many free books to give to the kids … to get books into kids’ hands,” said Warnock, whose gratitude was palpable as she talked.

Dvorin added to this point. She said one of the best things about the book sale is seeing children with piles of books around them and being able to support literacy in an increasingly digital age.

“The vibe is great. People are so happy to be here. They’re thrilled that there are so many books,” she said.

“This year, I was really struck by the positivity of the customers … And again, given the year that our volunteers have had, I was delighted that they were getting this positive feedback in real time just to show that their hard work has been recognized and is appreciated,” Dvorin added.

Now that this year’s sale is over, the Friends will meet and review everything that went right and things that can be improved upon. As Kaiser noted, the Friends are always in “flux,” and are always trying to evolve and become better.

Dvorin emphasized that this year was a very positive experience. She expressed gratitude for the community making the book sale so big.

“It is only possible to put [the book sale] on because it involves individuals from the community in the form of volunteers and sponsors," she said. "It involves businesses, it involves schools, it involves town government … we can’t do it without the entire help of the community.”

Funds raised from the annual book sale help support the library through grants and sponsoring programs like Tuesday Tunes concerts at Dickinson Memorial Park. For more information about the Friends and the book sale, go to boothbooksale.org.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.