Recycled Reads Sale connects bookworms with treasures
By Maddie Scott
Louisiana State University
The Recycled Reads Sale has operated in Baton Rouge for 25 years, and a line of local bookworms, longtime regulars and families stretched out of the building before Saturday’s 9 a.m. opening.
The event is on the last Saturday of every month, excluding November and December, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3434 North Blvd. According to Collection
Development Librarian Jenna Jaureguy, the event sells up to 4,000 items per month by selling books, CDs, games, puzzles, art, and DVDs.
On Saturday, most items were $1, and children’s books were 25 cents. The proceeds support special library programming, including the Summer Reading Program, Author/Illustrator event, and One Book One Community, Jaureguy said.
The Recycled Reads Sale began in 2000, and six years later, a permanent store was created for the event by Patrons of the Public Library, a non-profit organization that financially supports the work of East Baton Rouge Parish. After another temporary move in 2012, the book sale moved into the North Boulevard space where it has operated since 2016.
Jaureguy stood by the entrance to greet customers as they walked in, and she held a clicker to track the total number of people throughout the day. By 9:16 a.m., 138 people had entered the building.
“We have people come from all over, not just East Baton Rouge Parish but in other parishes and other cities,” Jauregay said. “They’ll make a day of it and go to brunch afterwards.”
Some attendees arrive as early as 8:30 a.m. to beat the line. While most shoppers bring reusable bags to hold their books, some brought wagons (the same ones you see at Mardi Gras) to hold their books whilst browsing.
Among the early birds were first-time attendees Alonna Dean and Belle Schanie. The two are members of LSU’s Shelter Medicine Club, an organization that provides veterinary students with field experience inside local animal shelters. They plan to host their own book sale to raise money for their club.
“We were surprised by how many books there were,” Dean said while holding half of the 25 books she and Schanie bought.
Baton Rouge resident Ben Smith approached the checkout area with an armful of books, but after something caught his eye, he lingered another 20 minutes and his armful grew to two bags. The bags contained mostly history books, 20th-century American literature, and physical media. Smith is 100 books away from reaching 1,000 books in his library.
“It’s been great as sort of cheap and easy way to find books that are either out of print that are still in good condition or even kind of rare books that you wouldn’t even think about,” Smith said.
Smith recently lived in Washington, D.C., for a couple of years, and his mother told him about the monthly event when he returned to Baton Rouge. Smith said he’s lost track of how many times he’s visited the sale.
“It’s so organized,” Smith said. “It’s very well run, and I think it’s one of the hidden gems of Baton Rouge.”
This story was reported and written by a student with the support of the non-profit Louisiana Collegiate News Collaborative, an LSU-led coalition of eight universities funded by the Henry Luce and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations.
