Secondhand books around State College, Pennsylvania gather in two knots roughly nine miles apart, with Penn State and Benner Pike in between. Downtown, Webster's Bookstore Cafe on East Beaver Avenue and the sale room inside Schlow Centre Region Library on South Allen Street are around the corner from each other, each under a quarter mile from the Municipal Building, and the Woman's Club thrift store sits half a mile further down Allen, with Comic Cove a short way beyond on Westerly Parkway. The AAUW branch borrows the Snider Agricultural Arena on campus, 1.5 miles north, for its spring sale, Kid to Kid sells children's books 1.8 miles east, and St. Vincent de Paul trades out on Benner Pike, 4.9 miles northeast. The second knot is Bellefonte, the county seat, where the FaithCentre thrift store and the Plaza Bellefonte vendor market are next-door neighbors on West High Street and Black Bear Books lies 0.7 miles out on Axemann Road.
On this list, Webster's is the counter for anyone selling adult titles: it takes books in exchange for store credit and pays cash on a selective basis, accepts small loads unannounced and wants a heads-up by phone before a big collection arrives. Kid to Kid buys children's goods for cash or credit, while Schlow, the AAUW branch, FaithCentre and St. Vincent de Paul are stocked from donations. FaithCentre welcomes books but refuses encyclopedias, the Benner Pike St. Vincent de Paul says books are among the things it sometimes has to limit when its storeroom fills, and the two big sales are stocked largely from donated books.
A few familiar names fall outside this list on purpose. The Squirrel & Acorn Bookshop on South Allen Street, which the downtown improvement district welcomed in September 2022, is a new-book shop selling bestsellers, stationery and fountain pens, with no secondhand shelf advertised. Comic Swap on South Fraser Street began as the Book Swap in 1976 and marks fifty years in business, but it describes itself as a specialist in new comics, trade paperbacks and hardcovers. And the Centre Daily Times thrift guide of September 29, 2025 lists clothing, housewares, electronics, toys and some furniture at the Goodwill on Benner Pike, with no mention of books.
Used bookstore and vegan caféWebster's Bookstore Cafe
133 E Beaver Ave, State College, PA 16801
A used bookstore holding thousands of titles shares this East Beaver Avenue room with a café that, as WPSU reported on March 5, 2025, went fully vegan after 25 years of serving coffee and food. Stock arrives daily and is not cataloged on the shop floor, while a cataloged, searchable warehouse on the premises stays closed to the public. Books come in for store credit good on other used titles, with cash paid selectively, and modest loads can be dropped off with your contact details instead of being priced across the counter. Stax of Trax runs its vinyl from the same space, and the shop shuts on seven holidays a year, Easter Sunday and Thanksgiving among them.
Hours: Mon–Fri 7:30am–8:30pm, Sat 8am–5pm, Sun 9am–4pmWebsite Library sale room and annual saleSchlow Centre Region Library book sale
Schlow Centre Region Library, 211 S Allen St, State College, PA 16801
Upstairs in the library on South Allen Street, a book sale run by Schlow itself has materials for sale every day, according to a volunteer page the library posted in July 2026, with the proceeds benefiting the library. The larger event belongs to the Schlow Library Foundation, and the library's events pages call that used book sale annual and tie it to Arts Fest. The 2026 edition filled the Downsbrough Community Room across July 10 and 11, a Friday and a Saturday with doors at 9am, following an extra early-purchase afternoon from noon to 4pm on Thursday, July 9. Plan around the closures the library has published for the rest of 2026: November 26 and 27 for Thanksgiving, then December 24 through 26.
Hours: Library hours: Mon–Wed 9am–8pm, Thu noon–8pm, Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 1pm–5pm (September–June)Website AAUW used book saleAAUW State College Used Book Sale
Snider Agricultural Arena, East Park Ave, State College, PA
On the Penn State campus in College Township, facing Beaver Stadium across East Park Avenue, the AAUW State College branch fills the Snider Agricultural Arena for four days with a spring sale the branch dates back to 1962, stocked with up to a quarter of a million books and other items. The organizer has already posted the 2027 run, Saturday, May 15 through Tuesday, May 18, with Monday at half price and Tuesday given over to Bag Day, when $10 buys a whole bag, and reports that its 2026 edition netted about $150,000. Saturday works by ticket: numbers 1 to 600 go out at 6:30am, and because the arena holds 450 people counting volunteers, once it is full new shoppers get in only as others exit. Dealers are directed to the upstairs mezzanine, reached by stairs with no elevator, and flat horizontal carts are banned though upright suitcases on wheels are fine.
Hours: Next sale: Sat May 15–Mon May 17, 2027, 9am–8pm; Tue May 18, 2027, 9am–7pmWebsite Used bookstoresBlack Bear Books
Titan Park, 2022 Axemann Rd, Bellefonte, PA
In Spring Township, out on Axemann Road beyond Bellefonte, 8.6 miles from downtown State College in the Titan Park complex, Bob and Jessi Hall run a shop of pre-loved books that they say specializes in vintage titles for all ages. Their Facebook page announced spring hours on March 16, 2026, Thursday to Saturday from 11am to 4pm, and later posts kept that 4pm close on Friday, July 10 and on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Mystery, science fiction and fantasy lead their own account of the stock, and an October 1, 2026 post showed children's books going into a new Cub's Corner. Because that timetable was billed as spring hours, check the page before making the drive.
Comic shop with back issuesComic Cove
528 Westerly Pkwy, State College, PA 16801
In the Westerly Parkway Plaza, just under a mile from the Municipal Building, a comic and card-game shop whose own profile promises new comic books and old ones alike. A WTAJ local guide dated January 29, 2026 spells that out as new releases and classic back issues next to graphic novels and collectibles, and the shop's website was still posting articles on September 30, 2026. Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments fill much of its event calendar, so expect card players at the tables on game nights. Nothing opens before Wednesday, and Sunday is dark as well.
Hours: Wed–Thu noon–8pm, Fri–Sat noon–6pm; closed Sun–TueWebsite Where can I find cheap used books in State College?
Start upstairs at Schlow Centre Region Library, where the library keeps its own sale room stocked every day the building opens, then on a Thursday carry on to number 902 South Allen for the Woman's Club thrift store, which the Centre Daily Times lists among local thrifts carrying books. Out on Benner Pike, the volunteer thrift tied to St. Vincent de Paul has been photographed with books on its shelves. In Bellefonte, FaithCentre stocks donated books beside its clothing racks, and a book reseller called Oak Ridge Books works two spaces inside Plaza Bellefonte. For sheer volume, hold out for Bag Day, the last of the AAUW branch's four spring sale days. Families can add Kid to Kid on Rolling Ridge Drive for picture books and chapter books.
Where do I sell used books in State College?
Webster's, the café on East Beaver Avenue, is where books turn into store credit, with cash at its discretion; a few boxes can be left with your phone number and bigger lots need a call. Before carrying a crate in, let BiblioScan look over the shelf: it reads one photo and hangs a likely resale price on every spine, so the Webster's pile and the list-it-yourself pile sort themselves before you leave home. Picture books and chapter books can go across the Kid to Kid counter for money, while FaithCentre, St. Vincent de Paul and the AAUW sale take books as donations.
When is the big library book sale in State College?
The headline event is the AAUW State College Used Book Sale in Penn State's Snider Agricultural Arena, a four-day spring sale which the branch traces to 1962, with its last two days at reduced prices. Second comes the Schlow Library Foundation's summer sale, paired with Arts Fest and described as annual on the library's pages. Between the two, the second-floor sale room at Schlow stays open with the library.
Which day is best for book hunting in State College?
Thursday. The Woman's Club opens its thrift room that day, Webster's, Schlow and Comic Cove are all open into the evening, and in Bellefonte FaithCentre and Plaza Bellefonte stay open until 7pm while Black Bear Books starts its posted week. Saturday is the fallback, with every published schedule here covering it except the Woman's Club's, though Webster's and Schlow both close at 5pm and Black Bear at 4pm. Sunday trims the field to Webster's, the Plaza, Kid to Kid and, outside the summer months, Schlow, while Monday and Tuesday leave Comic Cove, Black Bear and the Woman's Club shut.