Each year, more than 300,000 books are printed in the U.S. They are brought home to be cherished, forgotten, given or dicarded.
Between 60,000 and 80,000 books land among donations to the Friends of the LSU Libraries Book Barn, tucked away off Skip Bertman Drive. The books in the barn are sorted and priced by volunteers who pack them in boxes.
The books sit in the barn all year waiting to be sold at the Friends’ annual Book Bazaar from March 5-7, in the 4-H Mini Barn and the Nelson Memorial Auditorium located near the John M. Parker Coliseum.
The Friends of the LSU Libraries is a group of volunteers who have worked to support the LSU Libraries by service and fundraising since the 1960s, and the Book Bazaar is its largest fundraising effort.
Anne West, chairperson of the Book Barn and Book Bazaar, said every book donated to the barn is checked for its age, condition and rarity by a team of volunteers, often retired professionals with expertise.
While prices start at $1, every valuable book is researched to find its correct price.
A majority of the books come from community members near Baton Rouge, West said.
“If you see a $25 book, you know that somebody has looked online to see what it runs at thousands of bookstores,” West said. “And then we price lower than those so we can sell it to you. The more pricey books tend to be either very special or much newer.”
How the books are priced is important, West said, because all proceeds from Bazaar go into an endowment for the LSU Libraries.
The annual interest on the now roughly $2 million endowment is available to use for projects and book acquisitions the libraries couldn’t afford otherwise, said Stanley Wilder, dean of the LSU Libraries.
West said everything the Book Barn does in preparation for the bazaar is on a low budget, so the majority of funds from the sales go to the endowment. The barn sells used textbooks throughout the year and packs the books in hand-me-down boxes from Barnes and Noble Booksellers to combat the costs.
“The only thing we have to pay for is getting the books moved to the Bazaar location,” West said.
West said sometimes alumni who live far away bring books when they visit Baton Rouge, and professors donate boxes when they retire.
Occasionally, rare, first-edition books find their way into the barn, hidden in the bottoms of boxes. West said she makes a point to check out interesting finds because people are willing to pay top dollar for first editions or other hard-to-find books.
This year West is bringing a first edition of Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and a first edition of “Lafayette in America” by Louis Gottschalk, bound in buffalo skin and inlaid with 14 karat gold.
She is still researching how to price the Gottschalk edition.
There are books about every topic, and even those who don’t collect books can find something, West said.
Biology freshman Sarah Labat said she visits the bazaar with her father every year. She said she never goes with a goal in mind but keeps an eye out for interesting reads.
“We found a bunch of cookbooks one year, homebound ones,” Labat said. “We still use one of them all the time, it has this recipe for biscuits that will change your life.”
Labat said she is also happy to find novels she wanted to read but couldn’t afford to buy from other places.
When people drop off books at the Barn, West always reminds them to come to the Bazaar to refill the new empty spaces on their shelves, so the books will have new lives again.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Raegan Labat

Donated books sit on the shelves of the Friends of the Library Book Barn on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2015. Books are donaetd for the annual Book Bazaar.