MEMBERSHIP SALE! Now you can become a member for just $10. This gets you ten percent off of all purchases over $5, good until December 31, 2026. PLUS entrance to the members only sale on September 19th! You get to shop not only the store but also the sorting room which holds all the books that are ready to go out on the shelves in the store. There will be special sale prices and lots of free things. Puzzles will be half price, that day only! Memberships will be available at the door, but if you buy now you will start saving money now!
Book Drop Off date is next Saurday August 22nd. Bring you donations of books, dvds, cds, and puzzles to the southwest corner of the libray parking lot, and we will be there to help you unload your stuff from 930 to 1230! Thanks for supporting the Decatur Public Library via the Friends!
Look at the new release shelves plus Booktok shelves! Lots going on! Even more will be added.
2026 Annual FOL Membership Application 2026 FOL Membership Form Membership forms with payment may be mailed to "Friends of the Library, 130 N. Franklin St., Decatur, IL 62523" or brought into our Books & Beyond bookstore during business hours as listed in the letter.
Please join us on Wednesday, September 4th, 2026, at 12:15 in the Decatur Public Library's Madden Auditorium for Books Between Bites. Rick Meyer will discuss Palaces for the People
About the Book: Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life by Eric Klinenberg. We are living in a time of deep divisions. Americans are sorting themselves along racial, religious, and cultural lines, leading to a level of polarization that the country hasn’t seen since the Civil War. Pundits and politicians are calling for us to come together and find common purpose. But how, exactly, can this be done?
In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg suggests a way forward. He believes that the future of democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on shared spaces: the libraries, childcare centers, churches, and parks where crucial connections are formed. Interweaving his own research with examples from around the globe, Klinenberg shows how “social infrastructure” is helping to solve some of our most pressing societal challenges. Richly reported and ultimately uplifting, Palaces for the People offers a blueprint for bridging our seemingly unbridgeable divides. - Amazon
About the Author: Eric Klinenberg is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He's also co-author, with Aziz Ansari, of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Modern Romance. Klinenberg's previous books include Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, and Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media
About the Presenter - Rick Meyer - Rick is the Director of the Decatur Public Library. He has been here for over 12 years, and has done several Books Between Bites presentations. Rick says "I am an avid movie and music nerd (I own over 5000 albums) and am a bit fanatical about Illini basketball."
Books Between Bites is a free program at the Decatur Public Library, sponsored by Friends of the Decatur Public Library
We have a gift basket with the ACOTAR series-paperback in pristine condition with tons of goodies included! Also some new children’s gift baskets with books, tiny beanie babies, toys, snacks and stickers. And fill a bag for $2 of old westerns! Also new releases have been restocked. New bookmarks for kids. Bring in your summer reading coupons for a free regular priced book and pick up a new bookmark while you are there!
Book sales are on the main floor of the Decatur Public Library. Go in the main entrance, then go left to our bookstore. Hardback books are only $1,and paperbacks are 50 cents. 2025 and 2026 hardbacks are $7, and 2025 -2026 paperbacks are $4 Special books and other items are priced as marked
Sale Days and Times - Monday from 10:30am - 2:30pm
Tuesdays from 10:30am - 2:30pm
Thursdays from 3pm - 6:30pm
Saturdays sales are on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays every month from 9:30am - 12:30pm