MILLEDGEVILLE — It’s that time of year again when the sights and sounds around allude to the coming of the fall season.

The air gets a little cooler. Football season gets under way. And Milledgeville and Baldwin County residents prepare for the sale of thousands of used books and other unique items at the annual library book sale.

This year, the Mary Vinson Memorial Library and Twin Lakes Library System will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the book sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18.

Plenty of books, homemade baked goods, flea market sale items, plants, entertainment and games will be on hand at the event, which serves as the biggest fundraiser for the Twin Lakes Library System each year and provides financial support for the annual summer reading clubs, according to Twin Lakes Library System Director Barry Reese.

“It’s very much a family event,” he said. “There’s something here for everybody. If you’re not a book lover, bring the kids and enjoy the games. We’ll also have good priced food and lots of entertainment.”

The event, which plays the biggest role in funding the annual summer reading club and other such programs at the library each year, is exceedingly important this year with the current economic climate and state budget cuts, he said.

“The biggest part of the library fair is that it’s our biggest fundraiser of the year. All the funds go to the Friends of the Library to fund summer reading club performers and prizes and other library events. An unsuccessful library fair means that we have to do less with the summer reading club. And with all the state budget cuts that everyone is being hit with, it’s more important than ever.”

This year’s event will include a few changes, he said, including a sound system to make announcements, special recognition of those who have helped with all 30 annual book sale events and lots of entertainment throughout the day.

“We try and make every year bigger and better than the last one,” he said. “This one will have more in the entertainment area than ever before, and we’re going to recognize the people who have been a part of all 30 of [the book sales]. Anne and Charles Moore and Harriet Whipple have both been involved in it for the last 30 years.”

The renting of a new sound system, among other things, should help attendees be better informed at the event, he said.

“There should be a lot of things that are different this year. We invested in a sound system that will allow us to make announcements to people both inside of the library and outside.”

In addition, the event will include a bevy of entertainment for those in attendance.

“We’ve got quite a few acts lined up,” he said. “Craig Amason, the lead singer for RX band, will be there doing children’s songs. Ken Scott, a magician, will be performing. LaToya Davidson will be doing a duet with Kenrick Perez. We’re also going to have the Old Capital Cloggers, and a band called Pumpkin City will be performing. We’re still talking to a few other folks, but those are all confirmed acts.”

For book lovers and collectors, the event will offer paperback books for 50 cents, hardback books for $1 and even boxes of books for $15 or a bag of books for $10.

“Basically, as many books as you can cram into those [bags or boxes], you can have” he said. “So it’s actually a really good deal. If you buy four bags or boxes, you get one free.”

So far, the book donations are plentiful, he said, as more than 7,000 books had been collected as of August, and donations of flea market items have also been coming in steadily, but the library is still accepting donations of both books and items for the flea sale.

Additionally, the library has racked up more than $2,000 in sponsors for the event this year as well.

The annual library is more important than ever with the current economic climate, he reiterated, and volunteers and other community members come forward each year to make the event happen.

“We’ve only had one budget increase in the last decade, and with the cuts, the budget just gets tighter and tighter. When the library fair comes around every year, we are reminded by how many friends we do have in the community. People help sort books. The hospital helps pay for the food. There are so many people from the community who are involved with this, and we try to make the event as special as possible to make sure that the people who put all this hard work into it have a great time.”

The event will take place rain or shine, he said, and several of the event’s offerings will be held inside of the library.

Donations for the event, including books and other items for the flea sale excluding clothing, are still being accepted at the library during regular business hours and those with a large load need only ask for assistance if they need help toting the items inside the library.

Those interested in becoming a volunteer or sponsor or those looking for other information about the event such as a schedule of entertainment can visit the Library Fair 2010 link on the Twin Lakes Library System website at www.tlls.org/libraryfair.