By John Maruskin

Book Lovers have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24, the library will be present it’s sixth annual Black Friday Book Sale, a book extravaganza at which you can buy as many bags of books as you like for $3 per bag.

This is always the biggest and best library book sale of the year. Thousands — and I mean, like, lots of thousands — of books of every possible description — tiny to over-size; every possible subject — archeology to zoology with oodles of fiction in between; for every possible age group — toddlers who love board and easy picture books to seniors who appreciate easy-to-read large-print will be on sale.

Circulation managers Lynn Wills and Caleb Diederich, the masterminds and architects of the Black Friday book sales, have been collecting and curating the best of the books weeded from the library’s collection, along with the finest, most popular and most interesting books donated to the library.

They work at this every month, so by November, they have a tremendous collection of books divided by subjects and separated into books for youth and for adults.

They do a truly phenomenal job considering the amount of material they sift through.

This sale is so big it takes up both the Rose Mary Codell Brooks Community Room and the Alice P. Tucker Board Room. Youth books will be located in the board room. Books for adults will be in the community room.

The crowd for this book sale starts gathering in the lobby as soon as the library opens on Black Friday, so if you want to get first pick, be sure to come early. No one is allowed into the sale before 10 a.m. No one can preview the sale before it begins Friday morning.

This sale is open to the public.

Once you get into the sale, you will be given bags to fill. Please do not bring your own bags.

If you have any questions about the sale, call the Library at 744-5661 and ask for Lynn Wills or Caleb Diederich.

Along with being a source of magnificent book bargains, the library’s Black Friday Book Sale attracts readers from all over Central and Eastern Kentucky. The person you rub shoulders with may have great book advice, may be a scholar looking for a hard to find reference books, a browser looking for something new, or an author or subject hound scanning for the last volume to complete a collection. The sale is a convention for bibliophiles.

While you’re at the sale, take a moment to catch your breath and re-focus by admiring the artwork of Clark County watercolor artist Rose Swope hanging on the walls in the Community Room.

Book lovers will also want to admire the facsimile editions of the Gutenberg and New Jerusalem Bibles on display in the lobby and the wonderful needlepoint art of Clark County resident Joyce Thompson on display in the reference area.

Black Friday box store mania isn’t mandatory. Instead, have a thoughtful Black Friday finding books you would like to read or gift during the holiday season and enjoy some wonderful local art.

Make Black Friday book Friday at the library.

Also not, the Library will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 21, and Thursday, Nov. 22. Have a scrumptious Thanksgiving.

John Maruskin is director of adult services at the Clark County Public Library. He can be reached at john.clarkbooks@gmail.com.