Secondhand books in Peoria, Illinois, cluster in three zones: downtown, the north side along Knoxville Avenue and University Street, and the outlying towns, most of them across the river in Tazewell County. Downtown is compact, with Friendly Finds beneath the Main Library and Lit. on Fire Books on West Main less than a mile apart. The north side holds the two largest stock counts published by any stop here, Stacy's Book Rack in the Oak Cliff Shopping Center at 3.3 miles and the Book Nook at 5.6 miles. East Peoria's Fondulac District Library sits just 1.5 miles away over the Illinois River, while Bartonville, Washington and Pekin stretch the map to between 5.6 and 9.9 miles from City Hall.
The library Friends groups set the floor on price. Peoria Public Library's book-store page says each of its locations sets aside shelves of secondhand books to buy, with the biggest choice at Main, and the libraries in East Peoria, Bartonville and Pekin each have a standing sale of their own. Trade credit runs the Book Nook and TAiLS of a Bookworm, so trading in paperbacks you have finished stretches a budget past what cash alone would buy.
Several newer storefronts turn up in a search for Peoria bookstores yet sell mostly new titles, among them River City Reading Room on Main Street, launched in 2026, and The Old Symposium in the Warehouse District. They sit in the tips below, along with the comic shops and the thrift chains that say too little about books. Among the ten stops here, the Northwoods Mall flea market is the lone market, and its organizer never mentions books.
Used bookstoresStacy's Book Rack
4408 N Knoxville Ave, Suite 2C, Peoria, IL 61614
Formerly Peoria Book Rack, this Oak Cliff Shopping Center store, a straight-line 3.3 miles north of City Hall, dates to 1972 and has been owned since 2016 by Stacy Hardin, a customer since the early 1980s. Its About Us page counts more than 100,000 books on 3,500 sq ft, mostly used with some new releases, beside a large gift shop of bookish merchandise. Discover Peoria's January 2025 roundup of area bookstores pointed to its blend of commercially popular, oddball and antiquarian titles. In November 2026 the owners were preparing their third Peoria Bookfest and selling seats for an ACOTAR 7 release night on January 11, 2027, so events get as much attention as the shelves.
Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 10am–5pm; Tue, Thu 10am–6pm; Sat 11am–4pm; Sun noon–5pmWebsite Used bookstoresThe Book Nook
6944 N University St, Peoria, IL 61614
Up North University Street, 5.6 miles from downtown, sits a secondhand shop whose Facebook page calls it the largest used bookstore in the area and claims more than 140,000 books. Trade credit is the house currency: its November 2026 posts quote each fresh arrival at a price before credit, and the 24-book children's Advent calendars it was taking orders for that month cost $79.95 in cash or $43.97 with credit, prepaid by November 22. Discover Peoria's January 2025 guide explains that incoming books get priced straight away so the person bringing them in is credited, then cleaned and mended before they reach the shelves. Its Christmas stock came back out of storage on November 2, 2026, along with holiday movies and puzzles.
Indie bookstore, new and usedLit. on Fire Books
712 W Main St, Peoria, IL 61606
On West Main, 0.8 miles northwest of City Hall, an independent shop founded in 2015 that mixes new and secondhand stock; a May 26, 2026 post showed piles of used books on its armchairs under the promise of a selection "new AND used." Used children's titles had restocked earlier that month, the shop said on May 5. A September 3, 2026 post announced that the founder had passed the torch to Jennifer Flaig, introduced as the store's "Fun Bookstore Aunt for nearly a decade" and signing as its new owner, and the calendar has stayed busy: the Get Lit. open mic falls on the third Wednesday of every month, next on November 18, 2026 at 7pm. Doors open at noon, and Sunday and Monday are days off.
Hours: Tue–Sat noon–6pm; closed Sun–MonWebsite Friends' used bookstoreFriendly Finds (Friends of Peoria Public Library)
Main Library, 107 NE Monroe St, Peoria, IL 61602
The Friends' used bookstore fills Lower Level 2 of the Main Library on Monroe Street, two blocks from City Hall, and the library puts its stock at 10,000-plus titles, most of them weeded from the circulating collection, plus DVDs and CDs. Volunteers run it, which is why the Friends keep asking shoppers to call (309) 497-2145 first; their November 2026 posts describe afternoon opening early in the week and on a pair of Saturdays each month. The Customer Appreciation Sale knocks half off everything, ran in April and again in October 2026, and is already booked for April 2027. Children's nonfiction books and DVDs were being given away free in November 2026.
Hours: Mon–Wed noon–4pm, 2nd and 4th Sat of the month noon–4pmWebsite Where can I find cheap used books in Peoria?
Start at Fondulac District Library in East Peoria, where an October 21, 2026 library post announced that the Friends' ongoing sale now runs on a pay-what-you-want donation for everything it offers. Pekin's fall lobby sale charged a quarter an item in early October 2026 and a dime on its last day, and Friendly Finds downtown halves its prices during Customer Appreciation weeks, which in October 2026 put like-new hardcovers at 50 cents. For deeper stock at shop prices, bring trade-ins to the Book Nook, where store credit took close to half off the cash price of its Advent book bundles.
Where do I sell used books in Peoria?
The Book Nook is built around trade credit, and its fall 2026 posts quote new arrivals at the price before credit comes off. WCBU reported in February 2024 that Stacy's Book Rack could take in hundreds of trade-ins in a single day. TAiLS of a Bookworm in Pekin gives credit as well, typically $1 to $2 a book toward its used stock by its own August 2025 account, which admits that is less than some stores pay, and it is choosy about condition. Snap each bookcase with BiblioScan first: the app recognizes every spine it can in one shot and tags each book with what it should fetch secondhand, so any title strong enough to sell by itself on eBay or Amazon stays home while the rest go in the trade bag.
Which day is best for book hunting in Peoria?
Tuesday or Wednesday, when every shop and library sale with published hours is open: Stacy's Book Rack, Lit. on Fire, Friendly Finds and the three library sales outside the city. A Saturday also works if it is the second or fourth of the month, the Friends' usual weekend slots downtown, though Stacy's shuts at 4pm that day. Sunday is thin, because Lit. on Fire, Friendly Finds and the Alpha Park library stay closed; that leaves Stacy's from noon, Fondulac's afternoon hours from September to May, and the Northwoods flea market on the Sundays its mall page lists.
When is the Friends of the Library sale in Peoria?
The Friends of Peoria Public Library describe their half-price week at Friendly Finds as an annual Customer Appreciation Sale, and every item in the store is half price while it runs; the Friends announce the dates on their Facebook page. Between those weeks, the Friends groups in East Peoria and Pekin keep their standing sales stocked.