Words are worth a million bucks, thanks to the Friends of the Library Book Sale.

At the 38th annual sale, some lucky customer will break a new record by giving the sale its one-millionth dollar.

Since they began in the early 1970s, sales have cumulatively earned more than $995,000 for the library, and Laurie Fletcher, a volunteer with Friends of the Library, expects the total to reach $1 million during the first day of this year's sale.

"We expect we'll reach it [the goal] before noon," Fletcher said, "but certainly by noon."

The sale consists of donated books, records, videos, DVDs, audio books, magazines, games and odds and ends. Collectible books can be purchased in a special auction room through a silent bidding process.

"That's one of the biggest draws for our book sales is the auction books," Fletcher said. "They can go from $20 to $500, depending on the book in question."

Proceeds from the sale fund special Natrona County Library programs, new books, audio/visual collections and capital improvement projects.

"We support them and give them things like equipment, or we pay for snacks for teens and children for storytime," Fletcher said. "They come to us with special needs and we fund them with this money."

Because the sale is community-based, scanners and personal digital assistants will not be allowed, she said, because book sellers tend to block others from shelves while they scan to find the best deals on books.

The sale will opens Saturday and runs through April 4. Hours of operation are:

April 1 and 2 are half-price days. April 3 and 4 are "bag days," during which shoppers can fill a plastic grocery bag for $1 in the library's Friends Room and $2 in the Crawford Room.

"It's for the community by the community, because we don't have anything to sell unless the community donates it," Fletcher said. "This is kind of the ultimate recycling. People are so generous and they give us such great stuff, and we turn it around and sell it back to the community."

Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0616 or megan.lee@trib.com

Book Sale hours

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

March 30 to April 3: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

April 4: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

March 30 to April 3: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

April 4: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.]]->