This year, the organizers of the annual Twice Sold Tales used book sale held by the Friends of the Mt. Lebanon Public Library are hoping to cash in on some of those hidden treasures. In addition to the traditional used book sale scheduled to run Oct. 14-22, the friends group is holding an auction of about 30 rare or first edition books which it found among the more than 40,000 donated books.
The titles include a first edition of “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, and a first edition of “From Here to Eternity” by James Jones.
Sale co-chair Anne Kemerer said she had been scouring online book exchanges and talking with book dealers to find the value of some of the books. First editions of “Atlas Shrugged” are on the market for prices ranging from $500 to $2,000, she said.
“There are only 10,000 copies of the first edition of ‘Atlas Shrugged,’ and we have one of them,” Kemerer said.
Last year, the sale and the opening night gala together raised about $40,000 for the library. This year, Kemerer and co-chair Sandy Golomb hope the rare book auction will be able to raise several thousand dollars more than last year’s. The auction will be held at 11 a.m. Oct. 22 in the children’s story room on the main floor of the library, which is on Castle Shannon Boulevard. The friends group is still looking for an auctioneer who will donate services to the sale.
A $5 entry fee will be charged and admission will be limited to about 50 people. The fee will be credited toward a first purchase. A list of books to be auctioned and a registration form can be found on the library’s Web site, einetwork.net/mtlebanon/friendsbooks.html.
“The auction is for serious buyers who want to spend serious money,” Kemerer said.

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Posted: 09|16|05 at 8:56 am. Filed under: US News.