If your idea of the perfect weekend involves combing through boxes of used books in search of your next favorite read, then you’ll want to mark your calendar for the second weekend of October when the Hyde Park Used Book Sale returns to Kimbark Plaza.
For more than seven decades, the annual sale has been a Hyde Park tradition, dating back to when the Hyde Park Co-op first organized it in 1954 to raise funds for Korean refugees. When the Co-op closed in 2007, the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference took ownership, and it has remained the organization’s flagship event ever since.
Photo courtesy of the Hyde Park Herald Archives “The Hyde Park Co-op Annual Book Sale” newspaper clipping from Wednesday, July 14, 1971, published in the Hyde Park Herald. 
Photo courtesy of the Chicago Maroon archives Hyde Park Cooperative Society Book Sale, 1991, held annually at the Hyde Park Shopping Center.
Despite changes in ownership and location over the years, the Hyde Park Used Book Sale has remained a neighborhood staple and one of the South Side’s most enduring traditions.
Its staying power rests on the dedicated volunteers who sort through piles of donated treasures, the community members who keep the tables filled with their donated offerings, and the readers themselves, who turn out in record support of the event that gives the community access to affordable books and ensures they remain in circulation.
Pulling it all together takes a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. “We have about 25 to 30 hardworking, full-time [book sale] volunteers,” said Louise McCurry, who has been involved with the sale since the 1980s and serves as chair. “It takes a lot of people and takes folks being responsible for the job being done.”
Louise McCurry sorts through donations for the Hyde Park Used Book Sale in the basement of the Hyde Park Bank Building, 1531 E. 53rd St., on Friday, August 22, 2025, in advance of the October event.
Book sale volunteers include people of every age and background, from high schoolers to members of women’s and senior groups. Many have volunteered for years, and new volunteers continue to join each year. Each receives on-site training to prepare for their specific duties during the three-day sale, which may include tasks such as presale setup, organizing, or running errands. McCurry said that the oldest current volunteer is 86 years old.
After countless hours of effort, the payoff comes when the crowds begin to gather, and the first book leaves the shelf.
Photo by Marc C. Monaghan, Hyde Park Herald On a beautiful early-autumn Sunday morning in October 2010, Glenn Iwahashi looks through a book in the Hyde Park Shopping Center courtyard during the annual Hyde Park Used Book Sale. 
Photo by Marc C. Monaghan, Hyde Park Herald Devra Helgert and her son Dhane Johnson look through some potential purchases during the Hyde Park Used Book Sale in the Hyde Park Shopping Center plaza, 5500 S. Lake Park Ave., Saturday morning, October 12, 2013. 
Photo by Marc C. Monaghan, Hyde Park Herald Detail of woman reading book in October 2004 at the Hyde Park Co-op’s Used Book Fair. 
Photo by Marc C. Monaghan, Hyde Park Herald Latasha Young and her two children, Caleb and Michaiah, look through some of the 30,000 books on sale at the Hyde Park Co-op’s Used Book Fair in October 2006.
“We start out the first day with people lined up around the block and down 53rd Street,” McCurry said. “We usually get, you know, 10,000 to 12,000 [people] … 3,000 to 5,000 per day, depending on the day.”
Over the years, the crowds have become as varied as they are large. The sale attracts visitors from neighboring communities, children, longtime residents, university professors, and seniors who mingle among scores of book selections that have also evolved over the years.
McCurry noted that science books have become most prevalent. She said the section now includes topics on evolution, the preservation of bees, and ecology, subjects not widely discussed in years past.
Curious bibliophiles, bargain hunters, and casual readers alike will be able to browse through hundreds of titles spanning a wide range of subjects, including fictional works, classics, mysteries, biographies, academic and historical works, children’s books, and other donated finds.
Among this year’s unique offerings are more than 50 recordings featuring opera legend Maria Callas, foreign language titles, children’s books, sheet music, and even a collection of books written in Braille.
Those willing to wait until the final day of the event can take advantage of an additional bargain: Monday shoppers can fill a bag for $5.
Shoppers peruse thousands of titles at the Hyde Park Used Book Sale, East 53rd Street and South Kimbark Avenue, on October 12, 2024.
Book lovers concerned about the plight of remaining books need not worry. McCurry stressed that no books will be added to any landfills. All remaining books will be made available to nonprofit organizations for free that Monday, October 12, from 12pm to 2pm.
Donations will be accepted through October 3 and can be dropped off at the Hyde Park Bank Building in bins located near the first-floor elevators.
Hyde Park Used Book Sale, Kimbark Plaza at E. 53rd St. and S. Kimbark Ave. October 10–12. Saturday–Sunday, 9am–6pm; Monday, 9am–2pm. hydepark.org/hyde-park-used-book-sale
Dierdre Robinson is an accounting professional and Chicago-based journalist who covers arts, culture, and entertainment. She has a BA in Journalism from Michigan State University.