Lawn chairs, crates and cardboard boxes form a short line just outside the main entrance to the Friends of the Library warehouse.
Each is marked with a name and number, the person's place in line, and were set by eager book hounds wanting first dibs at the bi-annual Friends of the Library book sale, which begins 9 a.m. Saturday at 430 N. Main St.
The sale offers books, VHS tapes, DVDs, board games, art, posters, CDs and vinyl records and includes about 300,000 items, according to the Friends of the Library Web site.
But the true number is hard to know, said Joan Curl, president of Friends of the Library.
Her guess is much higher, she said, but there is no way volunteers can count every book. Because of the uniform size of paperback mystery books, the volunteers in that section have been able to count the exact number: 6,875.
The warehouse cannot display all items at the same time, hundreds of boxes line one wall waiting to fill shelves as quick as they clear, Curl said.
"Even if you're really avid about something, you don't have to be here first thing in the morning," she said. "The shelves are restocked throughout the day."
Books are organized by genre, including history, science fiction and fantasy, religion, gardening and military. Some subcategories, such as "books that went to movies," add flavor to the shelves.
During the sale, volunteers are paired with sections that they have knowledge in, for instance a doctor will work at the health section, Curl said.
Ron Beauchamp, who owned a record and a CD shop for 20 years, was pricing albums in preparation for the sale.
"We have everything from classical, to jazz, to rock and pop," he said. "We run the whole gamut."
Beauchamp estimated that there would be 3,500 CDs for sale.
CDs will range from about $2 for single discs to $7 for multi-disc sets.
For those interested in rare items, there is a "collector's corner" containing first-edition books, numbered artistic prints and signed memorabilia.
The corner has several Gator football posters signed by UF quarterback Tim Tebow and other team members, ranging from $5 to $15.
Art, including large grave rubbings from England and folk art depicting Sept. 11, will be sold outside of the warehouse.
"We're expecting beautiful weather," Curl said. "Clear, dry and not too hot."
