I am an avid reader who gets most of her books from the library, except when I am traveling. Before a trip, I like to pick up a paperback or two to read on the plane.

My local used bookstore (Friends of Montgomery County Libraries) happens to be awesome. It's large, well lit and has many recent books in great condition. And it charges about $2 per book. That's a bargain!

What makes a used bookstore good? Obviously, having a wide selection is number one, but there are a few other things too:

1. Make it easy to find things.

Categorized: Bookstores are generally divided into categories such as Fiction, Biographies, Business, and so forth.

Labeled: And those category areas should be labeled. By classifying books, readers are better able to find what they are look for.

Alphabetized: Have you ever tried looking for a specific book in a bookstore that does not alphabetize its holdings? You probably didn't find it or gave up.

2. Sort and classify correctly. Imagine looking for a biography but not finding it in the biography section because it was placed in the fiction section. This happens all the time, especially when staff is not really looking at the book or making assumptions. At my bookstore, I have found The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman twice in the fiction section. It's not fiction. It's the real life story of Polish people who hid Jews from the Nazis in a zoo (very worth a read).

3. Knowledgeable staff. If you are looking for a book, and don't know where it would be classified, a knowledgeable staff member would be able to help.

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