Echo Park's Edendale Library Friends Society (ELFS) has hosted Wednesday afternoon used book sales since 2004, when the library opened.
It's a cozy clubby scene, as shoppers browse to music and snack on popcorn and brownies in the library's community room.
Prices are rarely above $1.50 with CDs, memorabilia and, sometimes, fine art posters also available.
One day patron David Rubin noticed what proved to be a treasure trove--signed prints left over from the Los Angeles Bicentennial.
The city had commissioned a series of limited edition prints by local artists including Ed Ruscha and David Hockney.
The prints had sat around for months at the library, tucked away in a corner at the weekly sales.
So Suzi Rogers and Sheila Anthony, who run the sale, let Rubin have about three dozen prints for $100.
Rubin tested the waters, posting a couple on e-Bay.
He learned quickly he could sell the prints for a lot more than what he paid for them.
Feeling grateful, he made the ELFS this offer--a share of the proceeds of each poster sold.
And just this Wednesday he stopped by another book sale to deliver a check for over $431.
Rogers and Anthony encourage others to come by and cast a careful eye on their wares, and to think about creative ways to help their favorite library.
The Edendale Branch Library, by the way, opened eight years ago Monday. The ELFS began their book sales that same fall.
Edendale Library Friends Society (ELFS) book sales: 2-5 p.m. every Wednesday.
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