If you see a line of people waiting outside the Hellam Township Public Works building on Friday, Sept. 24, don't worry. It's just bookworms eager to check out the Friends of Kreutz Creek Library's fall book sale, which will be held on Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The building is located at 44 Walnut Springs Road in York.

"We usually have a line outside the building before the sale starts," said Elizabeth McKonly, co-president of the Friends. "We have wonderful books. We go through them all and make sure they are still in nice shape to sell."

The book sale will include a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction books. "We have books for children to adults and teens in between," McKonly said. The sale will feature DVDs, CDs and audiobooks as well. "We'll have a selection of jigsaw puzzles, too," said Friends co-president Betty Bell, who noted that the library sold out of puzzles at its spring sale.

Along with books, the event will feature gently used jewelry for sale. "We get donations of jewelry, and this year, we have a really nice, big selection," McKonly remarked. A variety of individually wrapped grab-and-go baked goods will also be available for purchase.

McKonly acknowledged the efforts of the public works department in making sure the sale goes off without a hitch. "The public works employees, led by Curt Ferree, have been wonderful," she said. "They clean out their equipment from the building. They make sure everything is clean and ready to go for us. They have been very supportive of our sales." Bell noted that the employees have even helped to load up unsold books, which are donated to the Mennonite Central Committee.

McKonly stated that the book sale is important because the library relies on the financial support of the Friends.

"We do two sales a year, and they are our biggest fundraisers," she said. "Our sale in April was our biggest sale ever."

The Friends use proceeds from the book sales to support the library and its programming. "We pay one-third of the operating costs of the library," McKonly explained. Proceeds are also used to purchase new books and expand the library's collection, which will be a priority this year as the library plans to move from its current location to the former Hellam Township building later this fall. The move will increase the library's size from 1,200 square feet to 8,800 square feet and will provide room for more programs and activities to serve the community.

"The Friends group has worked so hard in support of Kreutz Creek Library, and it's wonderful to see their dream of a new library coming to fruition," said Deb Sullivan, community relations director for York County Libraries.

The fall book sale will follow current CDC COVID guidelines. Masks are recommended. For more information on the sale or the library, visit http://www.yorklibraries.org/hellam-kreutz-creek.