From July 7 to 11, the Cherry Hill Public Library held its annual summer book sale, one of three that it hosts each year.
The book sale is done to raise money for the library through the Friend of the Cherry Hill Public Library nonprofit, which supports things like their museum passes and summer reading prizes.
While there were a variety of books on sale, both new and old, the library also sold DVDs, CDs, vinyl records and puzzles.
Tierney Miller, the library director, said most of the books donated are from the community.
“The vast majority of the books that we sell have been donated to the library,” Miller said. “And the community is very generous and that’s why we are able to have three book sales a year is because we have the supply to be able to do that.”
The first day of the sale is reserved for those who are residents of Cherry Hill and are members of the Friends of the Library, followed by a day for anyone who is a Friends member, and the remaining three days being open to the public.
The library started reserving the first day for residents because of popular demand.
Miller said in general, they tend to get a lot of different people.
“People come from far and wide. So we get a lot of book sellers … meaning either an online or a brick and mortar book store, like a used book store. So we get a lot of those folks,” Miller said. “They come from all throughout the region. Sometimes as far away as other states.”
Part of the reason for their popularity, Miller said, is due to the size of their sale and a lack of a sale by the county.
Miller said she sees many people that have left with armloads of books.
“When I’m working the cashier table and they’ll be like ‘this is so great, I always look forward to the book sale, it’s so fun,'” Miller said. “Kids walk out with big stacks of books that they’re excited to read, especially in the summer when they have more free time to do it. Generally, it’s a very positive thing.”
The remaining books are ones the library has in its collection that it doesn’t need anymore because they have too many copies of one book.
There is also a book sale in November and April, with the only difference being those sales are open on Sunday.
The sale itself goes back over a decade, though Miller said she wasn’t sure exactly how long the library has had it.
While the amount raised varies between book sales, Miller said the most recent sale in April raised $20,000, the second most they’ve ever made in a sale
On average, several thousand show up for the sale.
In total, Friends raised $45,000 in 2025 for the library, with Miller and others submitting requests that then get approved by the Friends.
The library’s annual budget is around $4 million, something Miller said while a small portion has a big impact.
“What the Friends fund is things that are outside our regular budgetary expenses,” Miller said. “They basically allow us to do far more that we would then be able to do is what I would say helps our library go above and beyond in the types of services and programs that we’re able to offer … it’s where the rubber meets the road on a lot of things that our patrons will see and do”
