Friends of the Iberia Parish Library book sale coordinator Bobbi Viator helps another happy customer at this weekend’s hardcover book sale Sunday afternoon. Managing the donations and preparation for the semi-annual sales is a year-round effort, Viator said.

If you’ve ever been to a Friends of the Library book sale, then you know Bobbi Viator.

She can be found at the table closest to the door, tallying up book prices and filling boxes for avid readers. She usually remains very focused on her work, moving as efficiently as possible to get the customers settled and on their way.

At least that is how it is at the beginning of each sale, when the line of patrons winds through the small Magnolia Room of the Main Branch library, clogging the aisles. Some customers have a few books, while others may have enough that dollies are used to help load up their purchases.

But as the days wind on and the crowd thins, she smiles more and shares stories of the time she has served as a member of the Friends of the Library and the people she has met through her service. She can also tell visitors a thing or two about the history of the area, not to mention provide some tasty snacks for the volunteers.

In between customers Sunday afternoon, The Daily Iberian managed to get her to answer a few questions about the amount of planning and work that goes into each of the group’s fundraisers.

How long have you been volunteering with the library?

We were just figuring that out the other day. I’ve been a volunteer for 17 years, but I only started organizing the book sales three years ago.

What do you have to do to get ready for a sale?

It goes on year round. I am here three or four days a week collecting the donations. We move them upstairs, where I wipe down the books and clean them. Then I price them and set them on the pricing shelf. When that shelf is full, we bring them downstairs and store them until the next sale.

What about books that can’t be resold?

We have a giveaway shelf in the library. When I get too many for the shelf at the Main Branch, I bring them to either the Parkview or St. Peter branches to give away.

Is there anything that separates giveaways from sale books?

If someone has their name in ink in the book, I don’t sell them. They go in the giveaway pile. If it is in pencil, I can erase it. We have one man who comes in for our Western books who, instead of writing his name in a book, will circle a certain page number so he knows it is a book he has read before. We get some books that will have four or five names or initials if they have been loaned around a lot.

Which books make the most money for the Friends of the Library?

The most valuable books are our Louisiana books, especially the James Lee Burke books. We used to have a rare books section, but that was too much trouble. We would put them out and sell two or three, then have to box them all back up. Now we price them, and if you find an autograph or a signature, then good for you.