Even though the Berks Book Bonanza will not be held until September, volunteers are busy now collecting, inspecting and sorting books donated by the community.

Volunteers are accepting books at the new site of the Book Bonanza, previously held at the Berkshire Mall, at the County of Berks South Campus location, 400 E. Wyomissing Ave., Mohnton. Items will be accepted on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon, on Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon. Aug. 17 will be the last day donation day.

As part of a drive-through format, those who have books, DVDs, CDs or games or vinyl records to donate will be greeted by volunteers who will take the items from their car, box them, load them onto carts and bring them indoors for sorting.

During any given collection time, about 40 volunteers are on hand. Each volunteer is given a sheet of book sorting guidelines provided by Judy Ellsworth, a member of the Book Bonanza Executive Committee, who has been involved with the sale since 2015.

"You first check the condition of the book. We only want to keep books that somebody will buy," Ellsworth explained, noting that the four main categories of books at the sale will be history, mystery/thriller, romance and general fiction.

Books that are moldy or in bad condition are placed into boxes for recycling. "Even though we say we don't take encyclopedias, Reader's Digest condensed books or microwave cookbooks, you find them in there and we recycle them," Ellsworth said. "We have a volunteer who pulls off the spirals so we can recycle the paper."

Also rejected are books that have highlighting or writing in them. "We (also) look for time sensitive. We don't need political commentary that is more than five years old," Ellsworth noted. "In the Health and Fitness (category), we don't need (to read) about cancer treatments from 2000. We don't need to read about Disney World in 2005 because it is not the same today."

For donated games, volunteers make sure the game has all its pieces. "Who wants a game that is missing something? So they take the ones that don't have all the pieces, and when someone else comes with that (same) game, we can take (the needed pieces) and complete (the game)," noted Ellsworth.

The sale will also feature collectible books, which are books published prior to 1960; a large-print section; and an area reserved for children's books.

Because book tables are replenished throughout the sale, Ellsworth noted, about 75,000 books will be available during the sale. She noted many people will shop for items all three days of the sale.

She added that the sale would not take place without the efforts of the volunteers. "We have on our volunteer list right now almost 140 names. Some of them only volunteer during the sale," Ellsworth said, adding that some of the older volunteers with mobility issues volunteer as cashiers. "People don't realize what we do here. It is a huge undertaking."

The Berks Book Bonanza will take place on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20 and 21, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This will be the organization's first sale since 2021 when it left its temporary residence at the Berkshire Mall.

All three days will have free admission with Sept. 22 earmarked as a Fill-a-Bag sale. Only cash or checks will be accepted as payment. The book sale fundraiser benefits two local organizations: the Friends of Berks County Public Libraries and the Reading Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

To learn more, visit http://www.berksbookbonanza.org or http://www.facebook.com/BCPLFriends.