Mennonite Life, 2215 Millstream Road, Lancaster, will hold its annual book auction on Friday, July 14, at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Mennonite Life Community Room and will feature a collection of rare and used books that will be up for bids.

Among the available books this year are several volumes that relate to local history and culture, such as Menno Simons' "Opera Omnia" in its original leather binding and "Van de Historien der Martelaren" ("Of the History of the Martyrs") in its original vellum binding. "Opera Omnia" was written in 1681, and "Van de Historien der Martelaren" was published in 1722; both tomes were scribed in Dutch. Other books available to purchase will include "The Earth Is the Lord's" by John L. Ruth, "Building on the Gospel Foundation" by Burdge and Horst and an 1849 edition of "Martyr's Mirror" by Thieleman J. van Braght.

Bids may be placed online and by mail until Thursday, July 13, and the auction books will be displayed in Mennonite Life's Collections Building in the weeks leading up to the event. For more information, visit https://mennonitelife.org/events.

Mennonite Life hosts three annual book auctions, a tradition that began over two decades ago. The organization's goals in holding the auctions include stories that span communities from around the world and encouraging the exchange of different cultures and histories. Although Mennonite Life was unable to hold as many auctions as usual during the COVID-19 pandemic, the auctions have returned to their regular schedule this year.

The organization acquires the books for the auction through a variety of sources. Book owners often consign their items to Mennonite Life in exchange for a percentage of the sale. Others donate books from their collections to benefit the organization, and books are frequently decommissioned from the Mennonite Life Library to be sold in the auction.

"We tend to look for things that are Anabaptist-specific, but we have a wide variety of work," said Kevin Bradford, Mennonite Life's used book manager. "It's incredible to touch and see history and how it impacts people."

All of the funds raised from the auction benefit Mennonite Life and its mission to preserve history. In addition to the auction, the organization hosts a book fair every year in September. "It's interesting to see which books people go crazy for," Bradford said. "It's a lot of fun to have the general public come out and enjoy seeing these books."