Friends of Bezazian Annual Book Sale Returns September 19–20, 2026

About this event

Uptown’s favorite neighborhood book sale returns this September, offering great reads—plus CDs and DVDs—at great prices, all to benefit one of Chicago’s busiest and most beloved public libraries.

Join the Friends of Bezazian, a community-born nonprofit, on Saturday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, September 20, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Bezazian Branch Library, 1226 W. Ainslie Street. Shoppers will find paperbacks for $1, hardcovers for $2, and CDs and DVDs for $1, with discounts for multiple purchases plus great bulk deals available on Sunday: movies, music, general fiction, nonfiction, children’s, mysteries, sci-fi, and more—thousands of titles in all.

All proceeds go directly to support the Bezazian Branch of the Chicago Public Library—a small but mighty neighborhood hub that ranks among the busiest branches in the city. Book sale funds have transformed the library’s children’s area with play kitchens, a puppet theater, sensory learning tools, and cozy furniture; given teens a sewing machine, podcasting setup, and a worktable of their own, with outlets; and added a much-needed charging station to the reference desk. This year’s sale will fund even more materials and programs to meet the evolving needs of the Uptown community.

“Every dollar you spend at the sale goes right back into the library,” says Anne Howard, Friends of Bezazian president, “so it’s a great way to invest in what our library does best: foster education, equity, imagination, and opportunity right in our neighborhood and for all of us, whether kids, teens, or adults.”

Founded in 2016, the Friends of Bezazian is a grassroots, 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose members believe that Bezazian Library is an essential community resource—deserving of support, advocacy, and investment. Through volunteer work and public fundraising events like the annual book sale, the organization helps ensure the library’s continued presence and relevance in Uptown.

In addition to shopping the sale September 19 and 20, neighbors can support Bezazian by dropping gently used books, CDs and DVDs at the library from August 8 through September 19, joining Friends of Bezazian at no cost at friendsofbezazian.org/becomeafriend, or making a financial gift at friendsofbezazian.org/donate.

For more information, visit friendsofbezazian.org/booksale.

From Friends of Bezazian