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BEMIDJI 鈥� If you鈥檙e a book lover with shelves of your favorite reads and stacks of books on your 鈥渢o be read鈥� shelves, you might be interested to know if any of those books are worth more than their original retail prices.

A program on Saturday, Feb. 22, offered by the Friends of the Bemidji Public Library, may be just what you need.

鈥淔riends鈥� volunteers have been selling donated books since organizing in 1983 but to feature vintage books. Volunteer Mick Lee, who shared information about appraising books at a presentation last April, is offering a second program 鈥� free and open to the public.

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Money raised by Friends of the Bemidji Public Library is used to buy books and sponsor programs for the library and fund other literacy projects in the greater community. In 2003, they opened the Red Door, a used bookstore within the library, to sell donated books, DVDs, audiobooks and puzzles throughout the year.

Red Door manager and bookkeeper Denise Johnson says over 40 volunteers work 2-hour shifts and donate 30-35 hours in a typical week, sorting through books, shelving and selling hundreds of items each month.

Lee joined the four years ago and brought a new angle to their book selling 鈥� appraising vintage books and selling them online. A life-long lover of books, Lee had accumulated quite a collection of his own 鈥� over 10,000 paperbacks from the 1940s and 鈥�50s and another 3,000 duplicates. When his wife asked, 鈥淲hat are you going to do with all these books?鈥� he checked into online selling.

He spent about a year becoming familiar with online selling 鈥� particularly on eBay 鈥� learning the terminology and how to determine why one book sold and another didn鈥檛. He gleaned information about what items had been viewed and how often and how to determine things like what makes one copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" worth $4 and another worth $1,000.

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He set up an eBay account and started selling his books. His collection has decreased dramatically since then, but it鈥檚 still impossible for him to pass by a thrift store or used book shop without checking out what鈥檚 inside.

During one of Lee鈥檚 first volunteering stints at the library, he found a donated copy of Irving Stone鈥檚 "Agony and the Ecstasy," a first edition, signed by Stone. The lowest listing he could find online for a comparable book was $300.

Sometimes a book鈥檚 value is fairly easy to determine, even for a relatively new appraiser. Famous authors, first editions, excellent condition, signed by the author 鈥� all are details that can produce the 鈥渒a-CHING鈥� a bookseller is looking for.

Lee and Johnson set up a non-profit eBay account for Friends of the Library and started selling books, On his volunteer days, Lee sets up his laptop in the book sorting area and checks donated books against online information to see which books are worth listing.

Friends of the Library absorb the cost of shipping, so large, heavy books and vintage books that might be of local interest may be placed in the Red Door in a special 鈥淰intage Book鈥� section rather than listed online.

Sometimes an item that seems doomed for the 鈥渞ecycle鈥� pile turns out to have a specific audience, like a magazine-sized book about vans from the 1960s. Who would think it would be of value? Lee checked it out, found a copy listed for $110, and listed the donated one on the Friends鈥� eBay account for $92.

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Last year, Lee and Johnson decided to offer a workshop to help volunteers learn about appraising books. Other volunteers suggested the workshop be opened to the public. About 25 book lovers and potential sellers filled the meeting room, many of them bringing books for appraisal. Lee gave a half-hour presentation and then answered 40 minutes鈥� worth of questions.

One woman clutched an old children鈥檚 book tightly. 鈥淭his is the first book I ever got,鈥� she said. It turned out not to be valuable as far as resale was concerned, but it was priceless to its owner.

Another attendee brought in two sci-fi books to be evaluated: one by Arthur C. Clark and another by Ray Bradbury 鈥� a first-edition book that was listed for $5,000 online.

Through the workshop, volunteers learned more about what to look for in those stacks of donated books and can now search through them with a more discerning eye. Often someone will pull a book, place it on a shelf marked 鈥淭o be researched鈥� and say, 鈥淢aybe Mick will like this one.鈥� Already appraised books wait on other shelves marked, 鈥淧riced for eBay.鈥�

Johnson says that since the Red Door eBay account was opened in October 2022, they have sold 436 books online and netted $6,500.

The 2025 Vintage Books Roadshow with Mick Lee is set for 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Beltrami County History Center. The program is free with the purpose of helping people estimate the value of books, hosted by the Friends of the Bemidji Public Library.