Reading ahead Volunteers Jake Garrett, Gail Swenson, Library Director Kathy Caldwell and volunteer Helen Garrett check out one of the books set up for the annual Friends of the Library silent auction. Books will be available for bidding at the Bill Ellis Memorial Library until Feb. 3, when they'll be moved to the Civic Center for the book sale itself. Book buyers can get a head start on this year's book sale by dropping by the Bill Ellis Memorial Library and taking a look at the silent auction books now on display.

The silent auction is part of the annual Friends of the Library book sale, a fund raiser for the library. Books went on display on Thursday, Jan. 18, and will be available for inspection - and bids - until Saturday, Feb. 3.

The book sale itself is at the Civic Center, Cut-off Road and West Avenue A, on Feb. 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 4, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Winners of the silent auction will be drawn and announced at 2 p.m., near the end of the sale on Sunday. Winners do not have to be present at the drawing and announcement.

In a silent auction, bidders write their bids on a sheet of paper associated with the item. Each bid must be more than the one before.

Book sale chairman Gail Swenson said volunteers have begun sorting and arranging books for the sale. More than 80 boxes of books, video and audio tapes and other items were taken from storage and are headed for the civic center, she said.

Among the books available in the silent auction are Hurricane Junction: a History of Port Aransas, The Aransas Pass Station: A History and The Stubborn Fisherman by Elda May Roberts.