By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Summer is a good season to sit on the front porch and read a book, but at the Chelsea Public Library, it’s also a good time to buy a book.

Starting June 1, the library will convert its front porch into a makeshift bookstore. Customers will be able to sift through and purchase hundreds of paperback and hardback books at low prices, while helping the library free up interior space.

“We’re overrun with donations in our small amount of storage space,” Chelsea Public Library Director Dana Polk said. “We set up some folding tables on the front porch and just put the books out there.”

Paperback books are 25 cents, and hardbacks are 50 cents. Polk said any customers that buy a large number of books might be able to negotiate lower prices.

“All of these are books that have been donated or withdrawn from the library,” Polk said. “We had to make some room.”

Most of the books at the sale are gently used and could include fiction, non-fiction, adult and limited children’s selections.

“It would be a great opportunity to get you some vacation books,” Polk said.

Polk noted the library doesn’t sell all donated books, but must periodically clear out stored books to make room for new arrivals.

“We try to use them,” she said. “If you donate a book to the library, it doesn’t automatically go into the book sale.”

The sale will start June 1, if the weather allows, and likely will end June 5 or early the next week.

Cash, check, debit and credit cards will be accepted for payment.

“We’ve done it the past couple of years,” Polk said of the sale. “It seems to work for us.”

The Chelsea Public Library is located at 41 Weldon in Chelsea.