This week’s Good Stuff highlight? Dina Liberatore and the AAUW State College Used Book Sale!

Dina Liberatore is an academic adviser for Penn State World Campus and in her free time enjoys walking her dog, quilting, hiking, rock climbing (a new hobby), foraging for mushrooms, and, at the top of her list — reading. It’s part of what drew her to get involved with the AAUW State College Used Book Sale, happening this year May 17-20 at the Penn State Snider Ag Arena.

Dina likes to say that shopping this event is a win, win, win: “It’s a great community event, a great way to recycle, and the money stays in the community.”

And while the week of the sale is busy for the organization and the dozens of volunteers who make the event possible, there’s a lot that happens in the months leading up to the sale as well.

Dina leads the Monday night book sorting teams who work through thousands of donated books to categorize and price them. “We have found money, birth certificates, photos, and even WWII gas ration tickets in books,” Dina says. The sorters save all of the bookmarks that they find to pass out to kids at the sale. This year, on their last night of sorting, they brought in cake, cookies, and sparkling cider to celebrate.

Dina loves being part of an organization that makes such a meaningful impact on women and our community — and connects her to her love of books.The AAUW, which stands for American Association of University Women, funds scholarships for women and provides grants that support women’s equity and education, including STEM grants and scholarships for women returning to college. Funds are given to both people and organizations. Applications can be found on the AAUW State College website.

Dina says that being a member of AAUW State College has been a deeply rewarding experience. “The women in our chapter are so wise, thoughtful, and supportive,” she says. “I’ve truly learned so much from them and I’m lucky to call them such good friends.”

Volunteers are the heart of the operation — more than 100 of them move 4,000+ boxes the Thursday before the sale (yes, you will get your steps in!). In return, volunteers get early access to the sale, and maybe even dibs on that one book they’ve been dreaming about. Volunteers also work as cashiers during the sale, which continues through Tuesday when customers can fill up a grocery bag of books for $10.

Besides books, the sale also has puzzles, games, CDs and DVDs. Dina says the puzzles and games, relatively new to the sale, are really popular. The books are sorted into 30 different categories, including arts, biography, children, collectors, fiction, history, hobbies, humor and pop culture, literature, mystery, science and engineering, sports, travel, and more.

“Some are real treasures, like a pristine boxed edition of The Idiot by Dostoyevsky!” says Dina. There’s a whole special collections section, with rare books listed online before the sale. Collectors from all over know about the sale and come as early as Friday afternoon to get their place in line (sometimes held by a box). The first 600 people in line on Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. are handed numbers to return when the sale open at 9 a.m.

But Dina says you don’t have to come early to find treasures. “There’s still a huge collection on the other days!” she says, including some trendy titles she saw during sorting nights: How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis, GMorning GNight by Lin-Manuel Miranda, an autographed copy of Guru by RuPaul, and The Storyteller by Dave Grohl. Dina is still holding out hope that she comes across Onyx Storm, the third book in Rebecca Yarros’s No. 1 bestselling dragonrider saga.

Dina is counting down the days until the sale. She says, “It’s a perfect fit for people who are visiting or new to State College, or even those who have been here a while and never noticed this gem of a community event right under their noses!”

If you want to go:

The AAUW Book Sale is held at the Penn State Snider Ag Arena. Admission is free.

Saturday, May 17: 9am-8pm
Sunday, May 18: 9am-8pm
Monday, May 19: 9am-8pm (Half Price Day!)
Tuesday, May 20: 9am-7pm (Bag Day!)

Have books gathering dust at home?

AAUW will start collecting donations for the 2026 sale at their workshop at 2197 High Tech Rd on Tuesday, July 8.

Visit AAUWStateCollege.com
Or check out the Facebook Event