If you are one of the lucky students not bogged down by required school textbooks and are feeling in need of some extra reading material, the monthly campus book sales could be what you are looking for.

The Friends of the California State University, Sacramento Library, known more often as The Friends of the Library, is a volunteer support group that organizes dedicated monthly book sales.

“The Friends raise money for materials, equipment and services for the Library through membership dues, book sales, fundraising events and encouragement of gifts of all kinds to the Library,” according to the organizations website.

The dedicated book sales are held on the first and third Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays of each month in the lower level of the library.

The sales are often advertised by small yellow stands located near the library quad.

“I’ve been to a few in the past,” said sophomore graphic design major Samantha King about the monthly sales. “And I’ve picked up a few books that I thought were interesting. You can get a ton of books for very cheap through them.”

King said she mainly uses the book sales to pick up cheap art and architecture books for inspiration in her work and studies. She notes that while art books tend to be expensive when bought from well-known stores like Barnes & Noble, the art books she finds at the library book sales tend to be a fraction of the cost.

The sales are held in the organization’s Book Bin, which is an area devoted to the sale of books, magazines and artwork.

“It’s nice that they make money for the library through this,” said junior economics major Alexander Jensen, a regular user of the library’s services. “The more money they can bring in to the library the better, in my opinion. It’s really a great resource for students.”

Besides some exceptions for rare or specialty books, the prices are typically $2 for hard covers and $1 for paperbacks. Children’s books are a little less expensive, with hard cover books going for $1 each or $2 for three or 3 paperback books for $1.

The Book Bin cage, which contrary to the name is more of a medium-sized area, covers an extensive amount of subjects from business administration to science fiction to mysteries. There are even some books available in Spanish, French or German.

Outside of the cage, books and magazines are available for a suggested donation of 25 to 50 cents which students can leave in a donation box mounted onto the Book Bin cage.

“Sometimes if I’m just looking for a magazine to read, I’ll go pick one up for cheap,” said sophomore communication studies major Leslie Jenks, who often donates over the suggested amount for magazines.

“They’re usually older magazines, but I don’t really mind. It’s something to read, and I think it’s nice that [The Friends of the Library] put it on for the students,” Jenks said.

Supporting the monthly sales directly supports the Sac State library and students who are interested in picking up a book or two are encouraged to drop by during the sales.