Over 100,000 books and more line the shelves of three stores at the Berkshire Mall, patiently waiting for the opening day of Book Bonanza 2021. The annual used book sale will open its doors July 7 with the popular pre-sale, giving early bird shoppers first choice of this year’s selection with a $10 admission fee. The sale will continue to run July 8—11 concluding with the $5 Bag of Books sale on Sunday.
The annual fundraiser co-sponsored by the Friends of Berks County Public Libraries and the American Association of University Women Reading Branch returns to the Berkshire Mall for one final sale at this location and will be operating out of three former stores: Gap, Gap Kids, and the recently added Christopher & Banks space a few stores down.
The former Christopher & Banks location will house all collectibles, local, and children’s collectibles along with art and coffee table books, sets, and records. All other materials will be available at the former Gap stores.
The sale will continue to offer the same wide variety of gently used materials for sale including books, audiobooks, DVD’s, CD’s, games, puzzles, and other items.
Prices will remain the same with no regular items over $2.00. Collectibles, coffee table books, and sets will be priced as marked. Sunday will also be the Bag of Books sale–anything that can fill a bag for one flat price of $5. Bags must be purchased at the sale. Volunteers will be restocking shelves throughout the entire weekend. No carts or strollers will be allowed in the stores.
All the materials are donated by local residents with all proceeds from the sale return to Berks County through the Friends organization and AAUW-Reading Branch. Through the sale, buyers aid libraries in Berks County and help provide women’s scholarships.
The 2021 Berks Book Bonanza sale will take place on the following dates: Wednesday, July 7 from 10:00 AM—6:00 PM ($10 Early Bird Admission), Thursday, July 8 from 10:00 AM—8:00 PM, Friday, July 9 from 10:00 AM—8:00 PM, Saturday, July 10 from 10:00 AM—7:00 PM, Sunday, July 11 from 11:00 AM—3:00 PM ($5 bag of books sale).
Following the conclusion of the 2021 sale, Berks Book Bonanza will be searching for a new sorting and sale location once more. The Berkshire Mall generously offered space to the homeless book sale after its departure from the VF Outlet Center in 2017.