An hour into the first night of the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library’s spring book sale, a line of eager book buyers snaked out the library’s garage and down the sidewalk.

“We have to deal with the fire marshal,” said Earl Schweppe, Friends board member and chairman of the sale’s coordinating committee.

Brother and sister John, 6, and Sarah Langley thumb across a set of encyclopedias as Michael Heaton carries an armful of books to the hallway at the Lawrence Public Library. The annual Friends of the Lawrence Public Library Spring Book Sale began on Thursday, drawing out hundreds of members looking to add to their own libraries. The sale opens to the general public today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Christine Arentson, a Lawrence resident who’s been a regular at the sale for five or six years, said walking away with gems made standing in line worth the wait.

“Sometimes, you find some rare or out-of-print books that are in your field of interest,” she said. “Plus, it’s a good time to do some early Christmas shopping.”

The semiannual book sale kicked off Thursday evening with its members-only night. Organizers said about 50 new memberships had been purchased during the past week by folks who wanted to get the first look at merchandise before it was picked over.

With thousands of titles in categories like fiction, classic literature, history, science, business, computers, foreign languages, health and medicine, reference, cookbooks, the arts, encyclopedias, hobbies and how-to, the sale boasts a book for just about anyone.

Proceeds from the seven-day sale go directly to the library and typically help provide items that benefit patrons, such as new books, videos or books on tape, said Friends board member Liz Kowalchuk. Last year’s spring and fall sales combined brought in about $75,000.

The sale, which is being conducted at the library garage at Seventh and Kentucky streets and in the library gallery, will continue on the following schedule:

10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Half-price day.

5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, $5 bag night.

5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, $3 bag night.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 13, Give-away day.