BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — A new chapter is being written for the Columbia County Traveling Library.
"People always looked forward to our yearly book sales inside, and it's a really big deal for folks to get cheap books. We have a lot of readers in Columbia County and the surrounding regions," said Ammon Young, the director of the Columbia County Traveling Library.
The library usually has the book sale inside a county building on Sawmill Road in Bloomsburg. But last summer, while pandemic restrictions were in place, the library moved the sale outdoors. Now, they're back under the tent for a second year, with more than 20,000 books for sale.
The books are donated by community members and sorted by volunteers.
"It offers the chance to get the books that I haven't been able to read before, and they have a great variety of books," said Donald Whitenight of Orangeville. "It's a great thing."
All the money raised from the book sale will go toward adding new books to the traveling library.
Readers we spoke with say you can learn so much from picking up a good book.
"There are sentences that jump out at me and say, 'Woo-hoo, here's what you need to learn right now,'" said Julia Shoup of Millville. "I love to curl up at night when I got to bed, I take my Kindle with me, and I read for two hours."
"We go out to all these rural areas, and books are a lifeline for people," Young said. "There are many folks here who don't have a TV or even internet, and the books are their way that they can travel with their imagination."
The director of the traveling library hopes to host the giant tent sale every year.
The book sale wraps up Wednesday.