Bibliophile’s bazaar turns 50
Take the day. Buy more than you should
For a certain kind of local, the Friends of the LSU Libraries Book Bazaar is not so much a sale as an annual pilgrimage. It is for those who cannot pass a shelf without reading the spines, who still suspect that some lost treasure—an obscure biography, a blues record, a book they did not know they needed—may be waiting on a folding table for $3.
What began in 1976 as a modest fundraiser in the LSU Union has become one of Baton Rouge’s annual rituals. This year, it turns 50.
Walking through the used book sale will remind you of a slower way of moving through the world. One aisle offers a starfish’s life in improbable detail, another Walker Percy’s Lost in the Cosmos, another a cookbook with scribbled sarcastic replies to the author.
And the wandering does good. Over five decades, the Bazaar has raised $2.75 million for LSU Libraries, helping acquire materials the system might never otherwise afford.
When is it? The sale is Thursday and Friday, April 16-17, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., and Saturday, April 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum. Admission and parking are free. The only real risk is carrying home more than you planned.
