BRAINERD — After more than a dozen years selling used books out of a retail site at the Westgate Mall, the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library are in search of a new home for their book sale.
The nonprofit group raises funds to support the Brainerd Public Library. One major fundraising arm is through a used book sale, which offers pre-loved books gathered from community donations for prices as low as a quarter. Kids’ books sell at the sale for 25 cents, while most adult books are priced at 50 cents. Board games, books, puzzles, music and DVDs are available as well.
In 2025, the book sale brought in roughly $22,000 for the Friends through monthly shopping days and larger bi-annual sales.
For over 12 years, the Westgate Mall donated sale space to the Friends group free of charge, but with a major remodeling project planned to make room for Ollie’s Bargain Outlet at the mall, there is no longer room for the book sale.
Nonprofit members are searching for a new space to get the sale back up and running, and they’re asking for the public’s help. Ideally, a new sale space will be:
Handicapped accessible.Preferably on ground level without stairs for ease of moving books.Large enough to receive and sort donations, store books and have a sale all at the same time. The previous space at the mall was about 3,300 square feet.Priced at $1,500 a month or lower, as that is the amount the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library Board has allocated for a space.
The sale space is typically occupied once a week, with the exception of three-day sales in the spring and fall. As the Friends group is a 501(c)(3), the donation of a space could be a tax write-off as an in-kind donation.
Until a new space is identified, the Friends are not accepting book donations. All of the books on hand were either sold or donated at the last spring sale in April, and all the shelving and other equipment is in storage.
Book sale volunteers and Friends members tout many positive community impacts from the book sale, including:
Literacy. The book sale creates access to books for readers of all ages at a low cost. All kids with a Brainerd Public Library card receive a free book when they come to the sale.Community connection. Both volunteers and shoppers find a sense of community at the book sale through conversation about books and making recommendations.Keeping books out of landfills. Community members can donate their used books to the sale instead of throwing them away.Support for the library. All proceeds from the book sale support programs, books and enhancements at the Brainerd Public Library.
Anyone with suggestions or leads on a space for the sale may contact Roxann Evans at
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