Wild about books

There is underlying tension even in the outward genteelness of this weekend's Friends of The Seattle Public Library book sale at Magnuson Park.

It was a couple of years ago that the bargain hunters — many looking for that $1 book that'd sell for considerably more online — began arriving with handheld devices that connected to the Web.

They scanned bar codes on the books, or if a book didn't have a bar code, they could manually type in its ISBN (International Standard Book Number), and find out the book's Amazon Marketplace value.

"People were grabbing books off the tables and piling them up for themselves so they could later scan them," said Joan Amatucci, the book-sale director.

This did not sit well with other patrons who had waited patiently in line, she said.

Now, every one of the 7,000 to 8,000 people expected to show up will receive a page of guidelines, which includes rules for handheld devices.

"You can still use them, but you can't take books off the table. They can scan only as they walk up and down a table," Amatucci said. "That's settled things down considerably."

Early birds began to arrive at least eight hours before the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. Friday at cavernous Building No. 30, in what used to be a Navy hangar.

They brought portable chairs and umbrellas to fend off the rain.

"Probably the first 100 people in line here are going to be book dealers," said John Morey, 38, of Snohomish.

He was No. 3 in line Friday morning, having arrived at 10 a.m. He had brought a tarp with him and was hoping that lots of rain would keep rivals away.

As was the case with others in line, Morey wasn't exactly forthcoming with many details about his business selling books online.

"I don't want to encourage more competition," he said. Morey said he expected to haul out 500 to 600 books over the weekend.

The rules at the book sale even extended to the 90 volunteers who sorted the 200,000 items that were displayed.

Only 30 or so volunteers who work year-round on the sale — there also is one in the spring — sort in a section called "Better Books." It has higher-priced and more desirable items.

A white curtain hangs around the section, and volunteers who come to help just for this weekend must stay out.

"If there is a great book," Amatucci said, "they'd know where to run to [when the sale starts]. We want an even playing field."

On Friday night, anyone who was a member of the Friends nonprofit ($10 or $15 membership, depending on what time of year you join), could buy up to 25 books and as many vinyl records as they wanted.

There is no limit on how many items can be bought today and Sunday. (Every item can be purchased at half price Sunday.)

As they say, you can't beat the prices: Hardbacks go for $1; paperbacks are 50 cents to 75 cents; vinyl records are 50 cents; DVDs, $2.

The first person to get in line Friday was Kelly Thistle, of Eugene, Ore., who arrived at 8 a.m.

Dressed in all-black sneakers, jeans, shirt, jacket and bandanna, with his left cheek adorned with a metal black web hanging from piercings on his ear, eyebrow and nostril, he said, "I'm a bit of a Goth."

He was there mostly for the records, expecting to buy 50 or 60, keeping perhaps half and reselling the others.

A good buy, he said, was an LP he bought at the library's sale last year, on the obscure jazz label Strata-East. He resold the record for $180.

When the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. Friday, 1,184 bargain-hunters were waiting outside.

There was the initial rush, but nobody had to be warned about a handheld device.

Amatucci kept an eye on the computer and technology books table, a favorite for the scanner crowd. Nobody was trying to stash books away for later scanning.

"Everything is going smoothly," she said. "They see we're serious about it."

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com