The Friends of the LSU Libraries celebrates the 50th anniversary of its annual fundraiser

LSU’s John M. Parke Agricultural Coliseum usually serves as the setting for livestock exhibitions, trade shows and rodeos, with its dirt floors and arena-style seating.

But once a year, the venue is covered with tables holding thousands of books, along with some CDs and vinyl records, for the Friends of the LSU Libraries Book Bazaar. The beloved physical media sale and fundraiser celebrates its milestone 50th anniversary this April 16-18.

This isn’t your average book sale. Attended by thousands of book buffs each year, the Book Bazaar has become a tradition for readers, history lovers and collectors due to its extensive inventory of donated items sold at low prices. Proceeds go straight to the university’s libraries, allowing them to purchase materials they may not have the funds for otherwise.

Titles spanning a slew of genres are available for customers to browse free of charge. Books are priced modestly, usually ranging from $2 to $4, with the exception of a curated table of vintage and collectable pieces. The Book Bazaar’s selection, usually consisting of 65,000 to 70,000 volumes, is something that would make Barnes & Noble jealous. And it’s all thanks to donations.

“[The Book Bazaar] is simply community-driven,” says Friends of the LSU Libraries vice president Anita Adams. “I think we’ve become such an institution that people already know of us. If they’ve got a relative who’s downsizing or passes away, or their collection has grown too large, they’ll load the books up and bring them to us because they know that we’re going to be good stewards.”

Adams, along with other Friends and volunteers, helps collect donations and run the event. She also has the important role of sorter, organizing the large selection. She says attendees will find plenty of classics, but newer releases might be few and far between.

“Our donations are usually books that have been well read and passed around,” Adams says. “[Attendees] may come in with a book in mind, but they leave with ones they didn’t know they had to have.”

With humble beginnings as a flea market sale in LSU’s student union in 1976, the event has grown over the years both in size and impact. That first year, it raised $500, but by the ’80s, its yearly proceeds skyrocketed to around $30,000. After taking a hiatus due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the Book Bazaar made a triumphant return to campus, this time in the coliseum.

Funds raised through the sale have allowed the university’s library system to make purchases for special collections, including rare pieces like a cash journal of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Mattioli printing blocks dating back to the 16th century, and the Kelmscott Chaucer. These items can be viewed by the public and are used for research, education and other programming.

In our current digital age, Adams says she is blown away to see that the Book Bazaar continues to be popular. And she expects it to keep growing as more people find out about the event each year.

“It’s remarkable that with all the things right at their fingertips, there are still so many readers and people who just love to hold [books] in their hands,” Adams says.

The Book Bazaar welcomes readers of all ages to come out and find their next reads. Adams says the free-admission event usually has a line wrapped around the coliseum before the doors open, full of eager shoppers ready to pounce on what’s been collected all year.

“There’s just a feeling these people have of wanting to be in the throes of it, in the thick of it and make that discovery of a book that they may have read when they were a little kid, or their grandmother’s book that got destroyed,” Adams says. “It’s like finding an old friend.”

Friends of the LSU Libraries Book Bazaar

John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum, AgCenter Drive

April 16 and 17 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

April 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A ribbon cutting to commemorate the 50th anniversary will take place at 8:45 a.m. on April 16.

This article was originally published in the April 2026 issue of 225 Magazine.