Reading fanatics had an extra reason to book it to Festus Public Library last week.
The library hosted a three-day yard sale on March 26, 27 and 28. The event was sponsored by Friends of the Library.
Kathy Stoll, president of Friends of the Library, said proceeds from the sale would go directly to support the library. She said the sale included items such as kitchenware, dishes, decor, candles, tools, rugs, chairs, crafts, toys and more.
Stoll said the group accepts donated items from community members year-round in preparation for the yard sale. She said the indoor yard sale has been happening for at least 10 years.
“It could even be more. I’ve lost track, and I’ve been a member of this group for 16 years,” she said.
Stoll said Friends of the Library is an all-volunteer organization that supports library programs and raises funds. She said the group has about 30 members and organizes three yearly sales events: the yard sale in March, a book sale in September and a Christmas sale in December.
Stoll said shoppers at the sales are often very generous.
“People are so nice that they’ll come up and buy something for a dollar and hand us a 20. People are very generous because they know it goes back to the library,” Stoll said.
Stoll said each of the three sales typically raises between $1,500 to $3,500 each, with those proceeds to be used for various library needs, such as purchasing equipment or supporting library programs.
“When the library doesn’t have things covered in their budget, they come to us and say they need a new bookshelf or whatever,” Stoll said. “We’ve bought a lot of items over the years. We purchased the electronic sign out front along with a grant that we wrote through the Jefferson Foundation. We bought bookcases, the chairs out front, the sofa for the children’s room and some items for book repair. We totally support the reading program in the summer.”
Festus Public Library Director Elizabeth Steffen said the fundraising by Friends of the Library is integral to the success of the library.
“The reason that our summer reading program is as successful as it is because they pay for a lot of our performers. When we have the big truck event, they sponsor Kona Ice. They pay for most of, if not all, of the prizes. It wouldn’t be what it is without them,” Steffen said.
She added that the 2026 summer reading program will start in May and that the theme is “Unearth a story.”
“It’s dinosaurs, archeology, that kind of thing. Miss Melissa has a lot of fun stuff planned for it for the little ones all the way up to adults. It should be really fun,” Steffen said.
She said turnout at Friends of the Library events is always good. She said when she arrived at the library at 8 a.m. on the first day of the sale, cars were already lined up, despite the library not opening to the public until 9 a.m.
“There was a line in the parking lot. When I opened the library, I heard multiple people say they had trouble finding somewhere to park,” Steffen said.
Michael Osher Jr., 26, of Crystal City, attended the yard sale with his mother, Mandie. Osher said he was tipped off by one of the morning’s early attendees to come check out the indoor yard sale.
“Our friend said there was a lot of good stuff here, and that’s why we came,” Osher said. “We’re just looking around for neat things. It looks like everything’s priced really fairly.”
Osher said he did have his eye out in the hopes of finding one thing in particular.
“I’m looking for video games, but I haven’t seen any. I like old Nintendo games.”
Osher said it was his first time attending the indoor yard sale, but not in attending community events.
“I really like whenever there are these kind of events for the community. I always try to make it out,” Osher said.
Desirea Lawson, 34, of Festus attended the sale with her two young children. She said the family was hoping to find some interesting cups but was happy just to browse the sale.
Lawson said it was also their first time attending the indoor yard sale.
“We usually come to the book sales, but this is the first yard sale we’ve been to,” she said.
Stoll said the Friends of the Library is accepting new members. Meetings are on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m.; yearly dues are $10. Anyone interested can attend a meeting and then fill out a form at the front desk of the library.