Patrons of used book sales know they can be a place to find hidden literary treasures at bargain prices.

This year, the organizers of the annual Twice Sold Tales used book sale held by the Friends of the Mt. Lebanon Public Library are hoping to cash in on some of those hidden treasures.

In addition to the traditional used book sale scheduled to run Oct. 14-22, the friends group is holding an auction of about 30 rare or first edition books which it found among the more than 40,000 donated books.

The titles include a first edition of "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, and a first edition of "From Here to Eternity" by James Jones.

Sale co-chair Anne Kemerer said she had been scouring online book exchanges and talking with book dealers to find the value of some of the books. First editions of "Atlas Shrugged" are on the market for prices ranging from $500 to $2,000, she said.

"There are only 10,000 copies of the first edition of 'Atlas Shrugged,' and we have one of them," Kemerer said.

Last year, the sale and the opening night gala together raised about $40,000 for the library. This year, Kemerer and co-chair Sandy Golomb hope the rare book auction will be able to raise several thousand dollars more than last year's.

The auction will be held at 11 a.m. Oct. 22 in the children's story room on the main floor of the library, which is on Castle Shannon Boulevard. The friends group is still looking for an auctioneer who will donate services to the sale.

A $5 entry fee will be charged and admission will be limited to about 50 people. The fee will be credited toward a first purchase. A list of books to be auctioned and a registration form can be found on the library's Web site, einetwork.net/mtlebanon/friendsbooks.html.

"The auction is for serious buyers who want to spend serious money," Kemerer said.

The idea to look through the collection of donated books for rare ones surfaced two years ago when a volunteer stumbled upon a first edition of "The Fountainhead," also by Rand. That was sold to a local collector for $300.

Last year, volunteer book sorters came across a handful of rare books. This year, sorters on the lookout for first editions came up with what they believed were several hundred special books. After consultations with online book selling services and book dealers, about 30 of them were determined to be valuable.

Another book for the auction is a 1961 French edition of "Picasso: Toros Y Toreros" (which translates to "Bulls and Bull Fighters") and is filled with the works of Picasso. Kemerer said the book was made more valuable because it is a French edition and that similar copies were being sold online for $400.

A children's book, "In the Fairyland of America: A Tale of Pukwudjies," written by Herbert Quick and illustrated E.W. Deming with a copyright of 1901 will also be auctioned. A similar edition is on sale online for $150, Kemerer said.

There is also a first edition of "The Gastrointestinal Me," by food writer M.F.K. Fisher, which is listed for sale online at a price range of $300-$575. The book, which was published in 1943, states inside of the cover. "This is a wartime book."

Kemerer said book publishing was limited during World War II because of the shortages of paper and other goods.

The books for the auction will be put on display in a secure case during the sale for patrons to view. Each one will have a "buy me now" price in the event someone wants to buy it before the auction, Kemerer said.

"We'll do anything we can to raise money for the library. Library funding has been cut so much," Kemerer said.

"There have been such cuts to library funding that they've had to cut hours and staff. In the past, they used the friends money for frivolous things. But now it's used for operations and the purchase of books," Golomb said.

In addition to the auction books, the sale will feature about 25 books that have been signed by the authors, including Nora Roberts, P.D. James, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Joan Collins, John Updike, James Patterson and Nelson deMille.

"In the past, we had maybe a handful of these," Kemerer said. Each of those books will be sold at a price higher than the $1.50 price asked for most hardback books at the sale.

In addition to the auction and special books, the used book sale will offer thousands of hardback and paperback books, books on tape or CD, videos and DVDs and music CDs. It will be held on the lower level of the library. Prices for most items range from 50 cents to $1.50.

The sale kicks off with a Books and Bubbly gala from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 14. A $25 admission fee is charged for the gala and it is usually attended by regular library patrons who want to support the library and book dealers who want first crack at the titles for sale, Kemerer said.

The sale opens to the public at 9 a.m. Oct. 15 and will run during the operating hours of the library through Oct. 21, which will be half-price day. On Oct. 22, which is bag day, the final hours of the sale will be from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. During those hours people will be charged $5 for as many books as they can fit into a bag.