With Fairfax County Public Schools resuming classes next Monday (Aug. 18), Reston Regional Library will host a book sale to help students and their teachers prepare.
The Friends of Reston Regional Library is kicking off its biannual Kids Back to School Book Sale at 10 a.m. today (Thursday). Volunteers have been working since April to sort, clean and prepare “tens of thousands of books” for the sale, the group says.
There will be materials catering to all ages, including a separate section for young adults. Noting that this sale will have “a particularly large selection of comic books,” the Friends of Reston Regional Library is encouraging patrons “to tell all your friends how MARVELous this super sale just outside of DC is going to be.”
“Students from junior high through early college will find all kinds of books including SciFi/Fantasy, Classics, test prep guides, and DVDs, comics, and graphic novels,” the Friends group told FFXnow by email. “Books for readers from newborn up to 6th grade will be in the Meeting Rooms; books for 7th grade and beyond will be in the Lobby.”
The sale will continue through Sunday (Aug. 17), opening at 10 a.m. each day and closing at 5 p.m. except on the final day, when it ends at 3 p.m.
The sale will also coincide with an End of Summer Reading Bash that the Friends are sponsoring at the Reston library (11925 Bowman Towne Drive). Set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday (Aug. 16), the party will feature a live musical performance, a scavenger hunt, food trucks and a visit from the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Wonder Wagon.
Launched last year, the Wonder Wagon is a mobile van that brings environmental and nature-themed educational programs to communities around the county.
The Reston back-to-school sale will accept the coupons for $2 off any purchased book that are among the prizes for finishing the Fairfax County Public Library’s summer reading program this year.
Featuring the theme “Color Your World,” the 2025 summer reading program began in early June with a deadline of Aug. 17 for submitting completed logs. In addition to the Reston bash, FCPL will celebrate the program’s conclusion with an open house on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson Library (7415 Arlington Blvd) in West Falls Church.
Any Reston residents who can’t make the back-to-school sale won’t have long to wait for the next opportunity to scoop up used books: the Friends of Reston Regional Library will have its fall sale on Sept. 24-28.
The group is also planning a puzzles and games sale on Oct. 23-26 and a holiday sale on Dec. 4-7.
Reston Regional Library and FCPL’s other branches rely on book sales as fundraisers to support their nonprofit Friends groups, which help fill gaps in the funding that the library system receives from the county for collections and programming.
