Since last Monday, students have been gathering behind the copy machines at the Robert DeHart Library for the annual spring book sale.

The distinctive smell of old books and the sound of flipping pages accompany the rare sight of students sticking their noses in books instead of their smartphones.

The books are well organized in labeled sections and priced anywhere from $1 to $3.

From cookbooks like “Dinner Parties, A contemporary Guide to Easy Entertainment,” science fiction such as “Alien Blood,” to “Resume Writing for Dummies,” this year’s book sale offers over 3,000 books of all possible genres.

“Damn, I think somebody bought that book from yesterday,” said a student to her three friends. One of her friends stacked four books on top of each other, counting the dollar bills in her wallet.

Right next to the group stands a male student wearing headphones. Despite his dismissive impression on his face, he explicitly looks at all the books and ends up buying two of them.

“You like this kind of stuff?” a female student asked her male friend who opened up a book in the science fiction section. “Asimov is classic, you have no idea,” he responded.

A table with $1 and $2 children’s books is placed next to the stairs that reach the second floor.

“Oh my god, this is so cute,” a female student said to her friend. “Look at this one,” she said and hands her a children’s book with the title “Once Upon a Potty.”

Librarian Pauline Yeckley has been organizing the book sale for 10 years and says that most of the books are donations of De Anza’s faculty and staff members and some books are old library books.

“It is a fun event,” said Yeckley. “People come in, buy books and feel good about supporting the library.”

“The most popular books are science books about animals or the Earth,” said Yeckley.

“The book sale is going really good,” she said. “If we have remaining books by next week, we will sell them even cheaper, for half price.”

Bookworms who haven’t had the chance to visit the book sale yet, should check it out and possibly find a favorite book at a good price.