Friends of the LSU Libraries Book Bazaar Celebrates 50 Years on April 16–18
BATON ROUGE — The Friends of the LSU Libraries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Book Bazaar on April 16–18. To mark the occasion, opening day will begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, led by Stanley Wilder, Dean of LSU Libraries, and key Friends representatives.
For decades, the Book Bazaar has been a cherished destination for book lovers of all ages who delight in exploring thousands of used books, CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records for sale. The proceeds of every purchase go toward acquiring collections for LSU Libraries that could not have been purchased otherwise.
This year’s Bazaar is sponsored by Frost-Barber of Louisiana, LLC, and Kean's Fine Dry Cleaning. Admission is free.
DATES: Thursday–Saturday, April 16–18, 2026
HOURS:
- Thursday, April 16 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.*
- Friday, April 17 - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Saturday, April 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum, AgCenter Drive, Baton Rouge, LA
Free parking is available in the lot off East Parker Boulevard.
For more information about the sale, visit the Friends’ website, follow their Facebook page, or call 225-578-5925.
* A ribbon-cutting will take place at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, April 16, led by Stanley Wilder, Dean of LSU Libraries, along with key Friends representatives. Members of the press are invited to attend and should contact christinew@lsu.edu for details.
A Baton Rouge tradition with lasting impact
From its humble beginnings in 1976 as a small flea market fundraiser in the LSU Union, the Book Bazaar has grown into a beloved Baton Rouge institution. For many families, collectors, and book lovers, the Book Bazaar is more than a fundraiser. It’s a yearly tradition, a place to experience the joy of discovery, and a chance to support a shared love of learning that spans generations. For more than 50 years the volunteers have poured their energy and enthusiasm into the sale and helped to raise more than $2.75 million, cumulatively, in support of LSU Libraries and its collections.
The impacts of these efforts go far beyond the sale itself. Proceeds fund acquisitions by LSU Libraries that might otherwise be impossible, strengthening research, teaching, and preservation across the university.
Supporting world-class collections
The Friends have strengthened LSU Special Collections directly, through Book Bazaar proceeds and book donations, and indirectly, by inspiring broader support for acquiring rare and significant materials that preserve history and advance research and teaching.
LSU has the Friends to thank for such notable acquisitions as the Kelmscott Press edition of Geoffrey Chaucer (1896), which represents the highwater mark of author, intellectual, and publisher William Morris and a touchstone of the Arts and Crafts movement. Another example is the personal cash journal of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, a meticulously kept financial record of the French royal household from the years leading up to and including the French Revolution, detailing the financial lives of one of Europe’s most infamous queens.
One more such remarkable holding made possible through this support are 16th-century woodblocks that were used in the printing of Italian Pietro Andrea Mattioli’s famed compendium of botanical knowledge. Mattioli’s ‘herbal,’ as this genre of influential scientific books were known, was illustrated using these woodblocks, based on designs by Giorgio Liberale, which capitalized on the reproduction of such illustrations to disseminate Renaissance knowledge.
These acquisitions illustrate how the Friends and the Book Bazaar help LSU preserve an extraordinary range of primary sources and make them accessible to researchers in Louisiana and around the world.
