The 27th annual Friends of the Library BOOKSALE 2006 is coming!.

Posters, bookmarks and tickets bear the image of a small spaceman, surrounded by stars and UFOs, with the caption "Take Me to Your Reader."

BOOKSALE 2006 will be held on Feb. 25 and 26, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. , admission is free. On Friday, Feb. 24, there will be a pre-sale party for members of the Friends from 5:30 to 9 p.m. All BOOKSALE events will be held at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in the Oklahoma Expo Hall (formerly the Made in Oklahoma Building ). Those who would like to join the Friends may purchase memberships in the lobby on the day of the party from Noon to 4 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. Annual dues are $10 for individual or family memberships (four tickets) and $6 for seniors (two tickets).

There will be a selection of more than 400,000 books, covering a wide range of subjects; fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, biographies, medicine, westerns, romance, children's books, encyclopedias and reference books, plus a large selection of videos, DVDs and books on tape.

Over the years, BOOKSALE has become a community 'happening' with rock-bottom bargain prices. In the General Section, hardbacks are one dollar, paperbacks fifty cents and magazines twenty-five cents each, or two dollars a bundle. In Collectors' Choice books are individually priced, most less than five dollars.

Each year The Friends works hard to improve service and make shopping experiences pleasurable.

Proceeds from BOOKSALE are used to purchase items not covered by the Library's budget and to provide funds for special programming. Over the past 27 years The Friends have given more than $1.9 million dollars in the form of grants to our Metropolitan Library System.

Co-coordinators for the BOOKSALE 2006 are Friends volunteers, Kenny Wilkerson and Larry Willrath. For more information, or to volunteer to work at BOOKSALE, call the Friends office at 606-3763.

The Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County includes 12 libraries and five extension libraries. Libraries include Belle Isle, Capitol Hill, Ralph Ellison, Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library and Southern Oaks in Oklahoma City, as well as Bethany, Choctaw, Del City, Edmond, Midwest City, Village and Warr Acres. Extensions are located in the communities of Harrah, Jones, Luther and Nicoma Park and include Wright Library in Oklahoma City . You can also reach us at www.metrolibrary.org.