The annual Friends of the LSU Libraries Book Bazaar is, for local book lovers, a pretty big deal. Every year, people descend on LSU's Parker Coliseum to sift through tens of thousands of books across the event's three days.
As expected, people started turning up early. By 8:45 a.m. Friday, a line stretched from the front door to about a quarter of the way around the building. More than 100 people were waiting.
At the front of the line were Joe and Susan Phillips from New Orleans. The pair had been there since 6:30 a.m. and were still surprised that they had made it first — the year before, they said, they had turned up at the same time and found a bunch of people ready and waiting.
They estimated they had been to the sale "at least 16 times" during the past 30 years, often heading straight for the rare and New Orleans book sections.
On opening morning, the line outside the the Friends of the LSU Libraries book sale stretched around the corner.
"They've got great books, a really good selection," Joe Phillips said. "The people are really nice. And the volunteers here are lovely — they're always very helpful."
While many in line were from the surrounding area, others — as organizers had expected — were from further afield.
One out-of-towner was John Akay, who was visiting from Dallas. It was his second time at the event.
A book reseller, he stood in the early morning sunshine with his scanner ready and waiting in his hand.
"I'm after any kind of book," he said. "It's something I look forward to. There are thousands of books here, so I hope I find some good ones."
The Friends of the LSU Libraries' first sale came in 1976. It raises tens of thousands of dollars for LSU library acquisitions and services each year.
At 8:45 a.m. on the opening day of the Friends of the LSU Libraries book bazaar, people had already been in line for hours.
This year, organizers estimated more than 50,000 books would end up for sale, covering just about every subject imaginable.
One of the most popular sections is the signed books table. This year, selections included plenty of Louisiana material, with several copies of T. Harry Williams' Huey Long biography dotted around the table. There was plenty of out-of-state material, of course, such as Calvin Coolidge's autobiography (on sale for a cool $500).
When the doors opened at 9 a.m. sharp, people trickled in. There wasn't any jostling or shoving — perhaps book people are too polite for that? Even still, plenty of determination was on show. Within seconds, some were already scooping up books and hurriedly tossing them into boxes.
Manning the history table was volunteer John Englesman. A lifelong reader, he watched as people poured in through the doors and slowly made their way to his table.
"My parents, thank goodness, loved books," he said. "They got me a library card when I was just a little kid."
A big history fan, he said he was leading a hike in Port Hudson the next day. He looked down at the books. "I need to know a little about that," he said, with a laugh.
The sale continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.