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The items that are unsold after the four-day sale are donated to Lebanon Correctional Institute, Warren Correctional Institute, City of Middletown Jail, childcare facilities, or anywhere people may want to read.
“That’s important for literacy sake,” said Tina Newlin, a retired teacher and AAUW member.
Then the process — which has already been complete more than 60 times before — is repeated the next year.
The 62nd annual used book sale will be held today through Sunday at 4 N. Main St. in downtown Middletown. This is a different location than last year. Over the years, the sale has been held in the Middletown Shopping Center, Kittyhawk Plaza, Towne Mall and Windamere Event Center.
Another AAUW member Libby Abele joked that Realtors should pay the group to use their vacant space because every year after the sale, the building gets rented and the group needs to find a new home. This year the group is using space next to the Arts Central Foundation.
While the sale has moved, the volunteers have remained the same.
For the past 50 years, Newlin, 74, has worked at the book sale, the major fundraiser for the AAUW. She read about the book sale in the Middletown Journal in 1968, and decided it provided a great volunteer opportunity. And she never left.
This week, Newlin, and other women, were busy sorting all the donated items into categories. There are sections for fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, arts and crafts, hobbies and sports.
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The high school scholarships, valued at $1,500 and awarded through the Middletown Community Foundation, are renewable if the college student maintains a certain GPA, and Newlin said the AAUW is sponsoring four students and hopes to add more this year. The group’s goal is to make $10,000 a year from the book sale.
Besides high school scholarships, the group supports seventh- and eighth-grade female students attending STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Camp and assists non-traditional students at Miami University Middletown.
“We want to invest in the community, give back in that way,” Newlin said.
HOW TO GO
WHAT: 62nd annual AAUW used book sale
WHEN: 5 to 8 p.m. today; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday ($7 bag sale)
WHERE: 4 N. Main St., Middletown
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