The members' preview of the always highly anticipated Friends of the Library of Hawai'i book sale will include a sort of ceremony this year.

At 4:30 p.m. June 29, Tongan dancers will perform as a thank you to the nonprofit. The sale's leftover books — probably about 300 boxes of them — will be given to Tonga.

Joseph Mataele, executive director of tourism for Tonga, had asked the organization about book donations.

"He told me, 'There are no books in Tonga,' " said Byrde Cestare, executive director of Friends of the Library of Hawai'i.

"At the end of the sale, we don't bring books back; unless they're rare, everything else, we try to find a group to donate to. They're very fine books, just for whatever reason they didn't sell, and are in every category."

But when Mataele proposed the dancers perform at the sale, it posed a dilemma for Cestare.

"People come and they just want to buy books — they don't want to be distracted by anything," she said. Anyone who has watched people with furrowed brow rifling through spines knows what she's talking about.

So she decided a sale-opening dance would work best. It's a rousing start to the group's 60th anniversary sale.

Cestare says the McKinley event may be the oldest continuing book sale in the country — and probably the biggest. She's trying to confirm the stat.

Every summer, people line up early in the morning outside the cafeteria to be the first to dig through the boxes and paw the stacks at the Friends of the Library of Hawai'i's book sale.

Wilting in the heat, readers, writers, artists and all-around pack rats wade through the multiple copies of "Burden of Proof" to scoop up a thick biography of Marlon Brando, a near-mint edition of some arcane Hawaiiana book, guitar sheet music or a 1959 catalog of an exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art for a buck and a half.

Every year, 200 to 300 volunteers stock books and man the checkout counter. Even with the free help, the sale costs $20,000 to put on, and for its 60th anniversary, a handful of companies and individuals — including Wal-Mart and Bank of Hawaii — have underwritten the event.

Last year, the sale netted $150,000. This year, the goal is $180,000.

"Every single penny we make goes right back into the state's 51 libraries," said Cestare. The money is used for reading programs, continuing education for staff and grants for special events. For example, last year, thanks to money from the book sale, the Honolulu Theatre for Youth did a series of performances at libraries across the state.

"We provide the things that bring people into the libraries," said Cestare. "And once they're there, they discover how fantastic they are."

While many of the sale's books come from O'ahu libraries (when they add to their collections, libraries must get rid of old volumes), the organization, which was founded in 1879, has always relied on private donations.

"When Queen Emma died, she left 6,000 books — her entire collection — to the Friends," said Cestare. "She started the tradition."

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY OF HAWAIÇI 60TH ANNUAL BOOK SALE

McKinley High School cafeteria

9 a.m.-9 p.m., June 30-July 1; 10 a.m.-8 p.m., July 2-3, 5; 10 a.m.-9 p.m., July 6-7; 9 a.m.-2 p.m., July 8

Cash or check only for books.

536-4174

MEMBERS' PREVIEW

4:30-9 p.m. June 29

People can join on-site to gain entrance.

Membership fees: $10 student, $15 senior, $25 individual, $50 family

LOCAL AUTHORS NIGHT

5-8 p.m. July 7

Writers will be on hand to sign their books. Tentatively scheduled: Vera Arita, Marion Coste, Ellie Crowe, Melissa DeSica, Kerry Germain, Leslie Hayashi, Kristen Kofsky, Jeff Langcaon, Elaine Masters, Nancy Mower, Sandi Takayama, Lynne Wikoff, Tammy Yee

BY THE NUMBERS

Number of books on sale: About 100,000

Number of volunteers: 200-300

Revenue from first 1947 sale: $400

Revenue from 2006 sale: $150,000

Goal for 2007: $180,000

Reach Lesa Griffith at lgriffith@honoluluadvertiser.com.