Be it listening to an audiobook on the way to work or downloading an e-book to a tablet or e-reader while relaxing at home, there are more ways than ever for people to access both modern and classic literature in the digital age.

However, if the amount of eager readers stopping by the Dowagiac District Library this past week is any indication, there is still a healthy demand for good old fashioned paper and ink.

The Dowagiac Ladies Library Association wrapped up its semi-annual book sale Tuesday. The members had occupied the back room of the downtown library since last week Wednesday, where they sold a vast array of old and new books that lined the tables and shelves, which ranged from hardcover to paperback, and fiction to nonfiction.

Hundreds came out to the library over the last several days for the event. Sales were especially heavy on Monday and Tuesday, when customers could fill up a bag or box full of books for $2.

“We had some teachers come by and fill up their bags with children’s books,” said Linda Lorenz, the treasurer of the Ladies Library Association and one of the many members who volunteer their time to help run the sale. “Others have come by to load up on paperback novels to read during winter.”

Lorenz estimates that the sale generated more than $1,000 for the organization. The money will go toward purchasing new equipment, services or other needs for Dowagiac District Library.

The Ladies Library Association — which, at more than a century old, is one of the oldest service organizations in Michigan — has organized the summer book sale for years, Lorenz said. It is one of two book sales the club puts together every year, which, along with the club’s annual membership drive, serves as the association’s main fundraiser.

The organization supports the local library in a variety of ways, including purchasing new furniture, curtains and carpeting in the past, Lorenz said.

“We help fill in the cracks,” she said. “Whatever the library needs that doesn’t fall under their normal budget, we try to help with.”

The organization was instrumental in getting the library built in 1904, and also helped create the Dowagiac library district which now funds and governs the institution, Lorenz said.

Throughout the year, the association collects a new batch of used books for the sale. While some of the books are older material the library takes out of circulation and gives to the association, most of the books are donated by longtime customers of the sales, Lorenz said.

Helping the organizers set up are members of the Dowagiac Chieftain football team, who lend their muscles to bring the books to and from the association’s garage. Any unsold books will be donated to charity.

On top of supporting the Dowagiac library, members of the Ladies Library Association see the sale as a way to get more people to visit the institution, as well as a way to get as many great books in the hands of community as possible, Lorenz said.

“There is something about holding a book in your hands that makes a huge difference,” she said.

People who wish to make a donation to the Ladies Library Association may do so by leaving a contribution at the front desk of the Dowagiac District Library, 211 Commercial St.