HYDE PARK — The Hyde Park Used Book Sale is looking for 30,000 books.
The annual book sale on Columbus Day weekend is accepting donations through Oct. 4 in the watermelon box in the basement of Treasure Island, 1526 E. 55th St.
Gathering the books is as much of a tradition for the sale as the three-day event itself.
It is perhaps the one time of the year that a stepladder is used to reach the highest bookshelf and admit that “Flower Cookery” is never going to be used, “Chicago: City on the Make” is unlikely to get reread and “A History of Prussia” is probably never going to be read.
The sale also offers the opportunity to purge whole bookcases. Volunteers will pick up books if it is more than can be carried to Treasure Island.
A crew of volunteers sifts through all the donations, typically more than 30,000 each year, and sorts them according to the sale’s 50 categories, pricing each between 50 cents and $2.
The volunteers also pick out donations from those who have yet to learn the rules in the nearly 60 years the sale has been held.
No multi-volume encyclopedias are accepted, except the 13th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. There is a long-standing ban on National Geographic magazine. Scholarly journals, quarterly, monthly or biannual magazines are also not accepted.
To schedule a pick-up of books, contact Jane Ciacci at janeciacci@aol.com or 773-419-1384.
Proceeds from the book sale go to neighborhood schools and parks.
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