Bargain book shopping in Wheaton

Friends of the Library Wheaton Bookstore Manager Barbara Anoskey

When I visited the Friends of the Library Bookstore at the Wheaton Library this week, I expected a tiny room filled with dusty stacks of discarded library books and a lone person attending a cash box.  What I found was a very large, very well organized used bookstore with multiple copies of classics, bestsellers, children’s literature, and books in nearly every imaginable category (including a display of politically-themed books grouped under “Red State”, “Blue State” and “Neutral” on red, blue, and white shelves, respectively).  Approximately thirty people were shopping, reading and asking questions, and when I asked manager Barbara Anoskey if the store was always this busy, she and several workers answered in unison “this isn’t busy!” 

The Friends of the Library has run bookstores in various forms for over twenty years, and all proceeds benefit Library programs.  According to Ms. Anoskey, books come mainly from donations (note that you should call before bringing donations, and that encyclopedias are no longer accepted).  The store’s customers are local residents, library patrons, foreign service employees buying English books in bulk to ship back to their overseas postings and even interior designers who need visually interesting books (nothing white!).  Ms. Anoskey mentioned that some customers drive from several hours away once or twice a year; I saw one patron filling a grocery-sized shopping cart.  

The Bookstore has the same slightly bohemian charm that I remember seeing in used bookstores in Philadelphia when I was in college.  Simple wooden shelves are hand-labeled (but meticulously organized) and you’ll find pictures and postcards and cartoons taped to shelves and walls.  There are even a few comfortable reading chairs.  The staff and volunteers are friendly and knowledgeable, and children are welcome and encouraged to choose their own books.  The Bookstore offers discounts for bulk purchases (over $50) and for teachers (who must provide identification), but even without a discount, a book purchased here is a bargain.  Among my purchases (totaling just under $4) was a hardback copy of Haven Kimmel’s She Got Up Off the Couch in very good condition for just $1.50.  The classics section is particularly well-stocked, and students who need inexpensive copies of assigned books will very likely find what they need here for far less than they’d spend in their college bookstore. The Bookstore has a second location at the Randolph Hills Shopping Center (4886 Boiling Brook Parkway, Rockville) and a third location is coming to Gaithersburg with a grand opening scheduled for May 2.   Bring a totebag!