Thousands of donated books are up for grabs for great bargains during the Friends of the Summit County Library’s annual Used Book Sale that runs June 5-7 in the Kimball Junction Branch auditorium.

Thursday’s hours are 4-7 p.m., and that night is specifically for Friends of the Summit County Library members, said Friends President Sue Niblock.

“Anyone can come on Thursday and sign up to become a member to get in,” she said. “We’ll have volunteers with laptops on Thursday for people to sign up on the spot.”
Memberships are $10 for a whole year, according to Niblock.

“For that you get early access to our book sales and receive invitations to the One Book, One Community event for the summer,” she said. “People can also sign up for memberships online. We have a website, folscut.org, that has a membership tab. We also have a Facebook page, an Instagram page and they also contain info about signing up online.”

The book sale runs from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and features books of all kinds, Niblock said.

“Prices range from 25 cents for children’s paperbacks to $2 for hardback fiction for adults,” she said. “In addition to books, we’ll have DVDs and audio books for sale as well.”

Friends of the Summit County Library will also continue the sale’s tote-bag program, where people will be able to buy a new tote bag for $15 and fill it as much as they can for $5, according to Compton.

“If you have an older bag, you can bring it and fill it for $15,” he said.

The funds raised will benefit the Kimball Junction, Kamas Valley and Coalville branches of the Summit County Library through Friends of the Summit County Library, Niblock said.

“We are a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the three branches of the Summit County Library and what (Library Director) Dan Compton needs,” she said.

That support includes partnering with the Friends of the Park City Library to fund the One Book, One Community presentation that brings a best-selling author to town for a presentation and book signing, said Compton.

“This summer we have John Valliant, author of ‘Fire Weather,’ who will come speak to the community at the end of July,” he said. “It’s a benefit to hear from the author and have meaningful discussions about the subject matter of the book. Wildfires are very relevant to this community, and John’s visit would not be possible without a very generous support of The Friends of the Summit County Library and Friends of the Park City Library.”

Other programs helped by Friends of the Summit County Library include Great Decisions, an eight-week foreign-policy discussion group that is open to the community, as well as the Human Library Program, Compton said.

“This is where we have members of the community who have been marginalized or faced discrimination in some way, and the public can come and check them out for a discussion,” he said. “Instead of getting a book, you’re scheduling a (conversation) with a person in a meaningful way where you can talk with them in a safe environment and hopefully gain a better understanding about someone who is different than you. And that has been a huge success.”

Friends of the Summit County Library also helps with purchasing new equipment, Compton said.

“Last year, we needed to install two new phone booths at the Kimball Junction branch, and those are used regularly now by people who need quiet spaces for Zoom meetings and things like that,” he said. “And in Coalville, another creative program is our monarch butterfly waystation.”

Still, the Summit County Library has an annual budget, Compton said.

“It’s fantastic to have that, but we can go above and beyond with the support of the Friends,” he said. 

The Utah State Library Division recently awarded Summit County Library with its Quality Library Status, one of its top recognitions, according to Compton.

“I feel we were able to get that because of the support of the Friends of the Summit County LIbrary,” he said. 

Most of the books on the racks for the used book sale are donations, according to Niblock.

“People can still drop off books at our Kimball Junction branch,” she said.

Friends of the Library and Summit County Library staff examine every donated book, Niblock said.

“We sometimes receive books that are really damaged, so we take the time to pull them apart and take them to Recycle Utah,” she said.

Some of these books are already available at the library, Compton said. 

“We have removed them from our collection because we have too many copies or there is just a lack of interest,” he said.

The books that don’t get sold and are in good shape are sent to the Casa Hogar de Maria Inmaculada orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, Niblock said.

“We have contacts who come and pick up the leftover books for transport to Tijuana,” she said. “In April 2025 we sent a bunch of donated books to the kids there to enjoy.”

Other leftover books are donated to the Utah Wing of Santa’s Angel Flight West, which takes toys, games, books and clothing to various community groups in the state.

“(This) is something the Friends of the Library for Summit County has been contributing to for at least five years,” Niblock said. “So, we make every effort to recirculate all of the donated books in the community, and those that don’t aren’t just being thrown away.”

In addition to book donations, Friends of the Summit County Library is currently seeking volunteers to help with the sale, Niblock said.

“We are pretty staffed for Thursday, but we do need volunteers for Friday and Saturday,” she said. 

Volunteers can sign up by visiting tinyurl.com/bdemca9f or by just showing up at the door, Niblock said.

“If there is anybody out there who wants an easy way to give back to the community, they can sign up and we’ll show them what we need,” she said.

Friends of the Summit County Library Used Book Sale

• When: 4-7 p.m., Thursday, June 5; 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7

• Where: Summit County Library, Kimball Junction Branch, 1885 W. Ute Blvd.