On Mar. 6, a group of volunteers staged a used book sale in front of a Publix Supermarket to benefit Brandeis University Libraries, Scholarships and Research, according to a Miami’s Community Newspapers article.

The annual sale featured thousands of donated books and was hosted by the South Miami Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee.

According to its website, the BNC — which was founded in 1948 — is “dedicated to providing philanthropic support to Brandeis University” and has over 25,000 members nationwide. The website also states that the group has contributed over $131 million to the University.

“The Brandeis National Committee is not made up of Brandeis members. One of the reasons the book sale is as popular as it is is that all of the used books are sold to raise money to buy new books for the library,” Linda Zahler, one of the Mar. 6 organizers, was quoted in the article as saying.

The BNC first began holding used book sales to raise money for the University library in 1958, calling the initiative “New Books for Old.”

The group’s website notes that all books are donated, and all proceeds help “replenish the Brandeis library shelves.”

There are two permanent BNC bookstores, including one operated by the Tucson chapter via Amazon.

The BNC recently raised $2 million to benefit scientific research on campus. $1 million of that donation went to naming a neurodegenerative disease research laboratory in the Carl J. Shapiro Science Center, and the other $1 million helped create the Endowed Medical Science Journal Fund, according to the BNC website.

—Abby Patkin