Hibbing AAUW book sale opens Friday, 100,000 books support scholarships

100,000 books filled the Hibbing Armory when the AAUW book sale opened, turning one of northern Minnesota’s biggest bargain hunts into a cash engine for scholarships and community groups in Hibbing and across St. Louis County. The sale drew shoppers from around Minnesota and beyond, giving the Iron Range a rare mix of foot traffic, low prices and direct local payoff.

The books were sorted by genre, and the pricing made the event easy to read at a glance. Friday’s hours were 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at $1 per book, Saturday ran from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 50 cents per book, and Sunday became the deepest bargain day with a $2-a-bag sale. Early shoppers got the widest selection; the biggest savings came at the end. Families, teachers, casual readers and resellers all had reason to show up, and the low entry price made the sale one of the most accessible fundraisers in the region.

The event’s scale has become part of its identity. An AAUW-Hibbing newsletter said the 2024 sale may have been the branch’s biggest yet, with about 100,000 books and profits of $22,486. The Hibbing branch also marked its 100th anniversary in 2024, underscoring how long this fundraiser has been woven into the community’s civic life.

Behind the scenes, the sale depended on a wide volunteer pipeline that included Hibbing Key Club, Youth in Action, Hibbing National Honor Society, Nashwauk-Keewatin National Honor Society, Hibbing Student Council and Boy Scouts. That labor gave students a public role in a local tradition built around literacy, service and scholarships, and it kept the operation rooted in the schools and towns that benefit from it.

Barbara Wojciak, identified in earlier coverage as the book sale chair for 28 years, has been part of the effort since 1975. That continuity helped keep the sale steady enough to support scholarships for area high school students from Hibbing, Nashwauk-Keewatin, Cherry and Chisholm, along with Minnesota North College students and the national AAUW organization. The branch also directs money to the Mesaba Concert Association, Boys & Girls Club of Hibbing, Hibbing Public Library and Advocates for Family Peace.

The armory accepted donations of books, jigsaw puzzles, CDs and DVDs ahead of the sale, but not encyclopedias, old textbooks, VHS tapes, Reader’s Digest condensed books or most magazines. That sorting helped keep the inventory moving and kept the sale focused on the kind of books shoppers actually carried out the door.