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CASSOPOLIS — Cass County residents will soon have the chance to purchase books at a bargain.

Starting Monday and running through Oct. 31, the Cass District Library, 319 M-62 N., Cassopolis, will host its annual book sale. Prices will range from 25 cents for hardcover books to 50 cents for media, including DVDs and audiobooks. On Friday, Oct. 30, the library will host a $1 bag day, while children’s books will be $1 per bag every day of the sale. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

“We host a big book sale every year,” said Library Director Barbara Gordon, as she stood in the saleroom, surrounded by thousands of books covering every surface. “The books are, primarily, ones that had been removed from the library selection, but there are a number of books that had donated to the library, but for lots of different reasons, weren’t added to the library collection. This year, I would say our highlight is all of our children’s materials. Generally, we don’t have this much.”

This year’s event will differ in more than just the book selection. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, masks will be required inside the library, only eight customers will be allowed in the saleroom at a time, shop time will be limited to 30 minutes, and the sale has been extended to last throughout the week.

“We were hoping that by giving a bigger window, that would make [the sale] more accessible to folks,” Gordon said.

Typically, the sale raises more than $1,000 for the library, which Gordon said she hopes to match again this year. Last year, funds raised from the sale went toward purchasing new furniture for the main branch.

“That little bit of extra cash helps us buy things that maybe we weren’t able to buy regularly in the budget,” Gordon said.

While Cass District Library staff have yet to decide how it will spend this year’s earnings, Gordon hopes to purchase furniture that can create a space where patrons can use the library’s new Chromebooks, which it received through CARES Act funding.

Gordon said she hopes the public turns out for the sale. By the end of next week, she hopes the saleroom will be empty of books.

“We usually do a good job with that, so hopefully that will continue,” she said.