The BookCellar: Save Money on Books and Support the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library

The BookCellar: Save Money on Books and Support the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library

Do you have a summer bucket list? Brooke’s list includes going to the San Antonio Public Library and joining the Summer Reading Program.

My summer bucket list also included visiting the BookCellar, a discount store for new and used books in the basement of the Central Library. Along with my seven-year-old son, F.T., I recently visited the BookCellar for the first time and discovered that it is a great place to buy books for summer reading. We are already planning our next visit. Let me share what I’ve learned about the BookCellar and give you some tips for making the most of your visit.

The BookCellar is staffed by volunteers who are members of the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library, a nonprofit that has supported the San Antonio Public Library since 1964. My friend Veronica Rouse is a member of FOSAPL, and I learned from her blog post that the Friends groups at different branches raise money for a lot of extras that are not really extras: landscaping, new shelving, e-readers, supplies for baby time, and summer performances for children.

San Antonio Public Library - Central Library

The history of the BookCellar goes back to 1990, when the Friends organized a sale of deaccessioned books to raise money for the library. Since 1998, the BookCellar has been located in the basement of the Central Library, and it sells both discarded library books and donated books from the community. Over the years, the BookCellar has raised over $1 million for the library.

Ashley is a regular shopper at the BookCellar, and before our first visit I asked her for shopping tips. “Yeah. Buy it all,” she said. We took the elevator down to the basement and found a space lined with tall shelves and long tables. It’s organized like a library, with sections for adults and kids, fiction and nonfiction, books and other media. Volunteers have set up display tables with reading suggestions and seasonal highlights. F.T. is an eager reader, and we spent most of our time browsing in the kids’ section.

Children's section of the BookCellar, discount bookstore from Friends of the San Antonio Public Library

Along a wall, the easy reader books are organized alphabetically by the author’s last name. We found a copy of The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.

"The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish" by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

Also, Some Swell Pup by Maurice Sendak (known for Where the Wild Things Are) and Matthew Margolis.

"Some Swell Pup" by Maurice Sendak and Matthew Margolis

The books in series are grouped so they are easy to find; F.T. chose a new-to-us Magic Tree House title, #24: Earthquake in the Early Morning.

Magic Tree House Number 24 Earthquake in the Early Morning by Mary Pope Osborne

Nonfiction books are sorted by subject. We found books about Lebanese food and geography that will help my kids learn about their family heritage on my husband’s side. (A digression: to experience Lebanese culture in San Antonio, go to the St. George Maronite Church for their San Antonio Lebanese Festival in the fall, and visit the Institute of Texan Cultures for their Texas Folklife Festival in the summer and their Asian Festival in the winter.)

Books about Lebanon

The kids’ section also includes juvenile fiction and young adult fiction, sorted by the author’s last name. The volunteers had set up displays of mystery books. There are also bargain bins with even lower prices.

At the BookCellar, most hardbacks cost $1 or less. Children’s books cost 25¢ to 50¢, and paperbacks cost 25¢ to 50¢. Every month, the BookCellar offers specials on certain books; read more in this guide. Our shopping trip cost a grand total of $2.25.

Books from the BookCellar at the San Antonio Public Library

The books are well organized for browsing, but volunteers are happy to answer questions. You can spot a long-term volunteer because his or her apron will be covered with patches; each patch represents 50 volunteer hours. Book lovers, you will find yourself among friends.

The BookCellar is planning a sidewalk sale for children’s books from July 25 to August 2. Tents and tables set up in the courtyard will offer a larger selection of easy readers, juvenile fiction, and young adult hardbacks. A BookCellar volunteer told me that the sidewalk sale is popular with teachers who are stocking up their classrooms with books before school starts. The BookCellar offers sales at events like San Antonio Book Festival, coming up April 2, 2016, and more; learn more in the bimonthly SAPLings newsletter, or follow the BookCellar on Facebook.

Entrance to the BookCellar, discount bookstore in the basement of Central Library - San Antonio Public Library

If you are planning your first visit, here are some tips to make it easier. The BookCellar is open daily from 11:00 A.M.–3:00 P.M. and until 7:00 P.M. on Thursdays, every day that the Central Library is open.

The BookCellar is in the basement of the Central Library. From the library’s ground floor entrance, go past circulation and Café Commence and take an elevator down. (The library’s other elevators go to a staff-only part of the basement.)

My kids have a special name for the Central Library: they call it “the library at the parking garage.” The first hour of parking is free; be sure to scan your parking tag at the security station as you leave the library. If you have restless kiddos, head to the top floor of the garage for a cool view of the downtown San Antonio skyline.

Finding the Central Library by car can be tricky if you’re not used to driving on one-way streets. The parking garage entrance is on Soledad, a one-way street heading north. When I go to the Central Library, I usually drive down N. St. Mary’s Street, turn right on Convent, turn right on Soledad, and turn right into the parking garage.

The key to one-way streets is to not get frustrated, just circle the block(s). If you go too far and miss the entrance to the parking garage, turn right on Camden, go two short blocks and right on Richmond, three blocks and right on North St. Mary’s Street, right on Convent, right on Soledad, and then turn right into the parking garage. No big deal, really.

One more driving tip: south of the library, Soledad is closed to vehicle traffic at Main Plaza, between Commerce and Market.

"Fiesta Tower" by Dale Chihuly in the Central Library - San Antonio Public Library

The BookCellar is a great place to help your kids discover a love of reading. As we took our books home, F.T. asked, “These are books I can keep? I don’t have to take them back to the library?” Yes, I assured him. Visit the BookCellar soon and help your kids start building their own personal libraries.

Inga Cotton
Inga is passionate about parent-driven education: helping parents be the best advocates for their children, finding the right schools (or homeschooling resources), and enjoying San Antonio's variety of arts and cultural events for families. She was born in California but has called Texas home since high school. She works part time as a lawyer and also blogs at San Antonio Charter Moms. Her eight-year-old son, F.T., and five-year-old daughter, G.N., attend a public charter school in the heart of the city. She married a techie and is a bit of a geek herself.