The CENTRAL LIBRARY BOOKSTORE
The Friends Bookstore at the Central Library is just to the right as you enter. We have 2 sale tables, and both will be overflowing during the coming weeks.
October Sales
September 28–October 3
Classics: We still have many more classics (old and new) for your reading pleasure (for adults and kids). Books you always meant to read—find them, and others, here.
October 5–October 10
Banned Books: There’ll be plenty of time to peruse books that someone somewhere doesn’t want you to read. The 2026 theme commemorating Banned Books Week is “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.” The Friends are in solidarity!
Library is closed October 12
October 13–October 17
Cookbooks: The holidays are coming…maybe it’s time to consider something new for family meals…plus cookbooks make beautiful gifts.
October 19–October 24
Vintage Books: A selection of these, many with great bindings, will grace our sale table (note: most selling for just $1).
October 26–October 31
Halloween: Boo! A real witch’s brew of Halloween-related books and media. Good fall reading and watching.
The CHANNING BOOKSTORE
The Channing Way Bookstore is located at 2433 Channing on the ground floor of the Telegraph-Channing garage. Our “Free Books” carts are stocked daily with books that we cannot sell, but are free for you to take and enjoy, or to refill your Little Free Library! The carts are currently available during all open hours and are located outside the store by the front entrance. Park in the parking structure: first hour is $1, or, use one of the pedestrian entrances on Channing Way or Durant Avenue (note: the latter is not wheelchair accessible).
October Sales
A generous donor has given the Friends a wide-ranging collection of all things China. Starting October 1, dozens of books, most dealing with modern history and contemporary politics, will be on the sale table at Channing. There are also academic, cultural and religious explorations, fiction, and memoirs. The books are in English and in excellent condition—well worth a visit to the Channing store. We also have Chinese language books: instruction, dictionaries, fiction, and many topics, all shelved in the international language section.
As a further enticement to visit the Channing store, we have also received another tranche of books from the Kenneth Baker Library. Kenneth Baker was the Chronicle’s art critic from 1985-2015. By all accounts, as demonstrated by his library, he was a voracious and curious reader. Several years ago, his colleague John McMurtrie began sharing the collection, which he inherited after Kenneth’s death in 2021. We are grateful for this donation, and we seek to connect these books with our discerning readers. Now, you really must come to the Friends store on Channing and experience the wealth of books for sale, all at reasonable prices!
AT BOTH STORES……
• Heavy-duty Tote Bags $5 • Ephemera (pamphlets, booklets, etc.) • Postcards (25¢) • Multi-disk CDs • Comics (and graphic novels) for kids and adults • Greeting cards 25¢ • Maps (old and new) • Friends of the Library T-Shirts: adult sizes $20; child sizes $15.
Friends Channing Bookstore
Tuesday-Saturday 10-4
2433 Channing Way, Berkeley 94704
510-841-5604
Friends Central Library Store (on the first floor of the Central Library)
Monday 12-4, Tuesday-Saturday 10-4
2090 Kittredge St., Berkeley 94704
510-981-6211
See our Bookstores page.
The Friends of the Library maintain an online storefront on Amazon, with an ever-changing selection of over eighteen hundred new and used books available for sale. Visit the Friends’ online Amazon store.
