From Oct. 9 to Oct. 11, The Friends of the Library will be will be holding a book sale at the Bel Air Public Library to promote literacy in the community.

The Friends of the Library are a nonprofit volunteer organization that sponsors book sales, fundraisers, and other programs to raise money for public libraries throughout Harford County. The organization has 11 divisions throughout Maryland including the towns of Aberdeen, Abingdon, Bel Air, Darlington, Edgewood, Fallston, Havre de Grace, Jarrettsville, Joppa, Norrisville, and North Harford.

Books available for purchase include genres such as: classics, self-help, young adult, cookbooks, historical fiction, romance, children’s, and biographies, with prices ranging from $.25 to $2.00 per book. The sale also includes DVDs, audiotapes, and CDs all selling for $1.00 each.

Bonnie Bailey, a Friends of the Bel Air Library volunteer stated, “Reading takes you places. It allows you to be someone else, and feel someone else’s emotions. This allows people who cannot afford books to buy books.”

The Bel Air Public Library started with 200 books in circulation by the ladies of Emmanuel Church in 1885. The original building was not only a library, but was also a community center for local residents. In January of 1959, the current lot was donated by the Bel Air Town Commission, and finished being built in 1960. Since its construction, the building has gone through one renovation in 1998, and two additions have been added onto the structure in 1967 and 1998.

Brennon Connor, an attendee at the event stated, “The reason I think it’s important to read is it’s a medium that allows you to understand someone else through the deeper meaning of their text.”

The book sale helped to promote literacy throughout the Bel Air community by allowing residents to purchase affordable books of various genres, while also raising money for local programs at the library such as the summer and winter reading programs, and their Teen Advisory Group.