The Friends of the Fort Dodge Public Library is now offering a good opportunity for everyone to expand their collection of books.

That group is now conducting the spring version of its twice yearly used book sale. There are tables stretching the length of the library’s big meeting room and they are covered with books for sale. There are even some books still in boxes beneath the tables.

Something to satisfy just about any reading taste can be found on those tables.

The sale is underway, so book lovers will want to get there as soon as they can to ensure they have a chance to browse the best selection. The sale continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday. Sale hours are 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday.

Purchasing some used books does more than just give the buyer good reading for a lazy weekend afternoon. Those purchases also help the Friends of the Library generate the money to pay for new materials and programs for the library. With the city’s general fund budget seemingly always getting tighter, those investments by the Friends group are important. The group pays for most, if not all, of the new materials, while the city pays for the building upkeep and the staff salaries.

The book sale is not the only fun and interesting event this week that will generate some money for a worthwhile cause.

The annual Go Big Go Dodgers fundraiser for the Fort Dodge Community Schools Foundation is Friday.

The foundation raises money to pay for items needed for the education of the Fort Dodge Community School District students that the district cannot afford. In its largest single grant to date, the foundation helped to pay for a $110,000 anatomage table that offers digital imagery of the human body. The table is used by health occupations students at the senior high school.

Go Big Go Dodgers is the largest fundraiser for the foundation.

The event will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday at the Laramar Ballroom. It will offer music by Jared Benson, food and silent and live auctions. Tickets cost $40.

We encourage everyone to browse the book sale and then have a fun evening at Go Big Go Dodgers.