So the 2011 winter bonanza begins.

On Saturday, Feb. 26 at the public school cafeteria, the Friends of the Orcas Library will once again be piling them high and selling them cheap: thousands of bountiful, beautiful books. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This year attendees will be in for a special addition to the sale, as world traveler and photographer Dave Polis has donated 1,000 photo prints to benefit the high school senior class. Polis created the images over the past 10 years on trips to exotic locales like Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, New Zealand, Spain, China, Thailand and more. In one close-up shot, a cuddly-looking lioness lounges in the limbs of an African tree, her belly bulging with a recently eaten wildebeest. There are others taken in the San Juans of bald eagles, lighthouses and scenery. Prints range from $1 postcards to larger sizes for $20 to $35. Profits will fund the senior class dinner and dance.

“I like to share my work,” said Polis, who shoots with a Canon Mark II and says “you can’t take a bad picture with it.” He was inspired to share the prints after seeing students at Island Market “selling cookies and just about freezing to death.” He hopes it will give the kids a warmer fundraising option.

The senior class will also be selling Polis’s photos at Island Market on Sundays: Feb. 27, March 6 and 13.

The Friends of the Library, which hosts the sale, have announced that they are looking for new members to attend monthly meetings and help organize events such as the August library fair, the December Holiday Tea, and the winter book sale. The organization exists to provide financial support to the Orcas Island Library, and the book sales are major fundraisers for the Friends. Last winter’s book sale brought in close to $3,000. Those interested in joining the Friends can contact president Pierrette Guimond at 376-4264.

Volunteers are needed to sort and organize books prior to the sale on Friday, Feb. 25 from 2 to 5 p.m., to help out during the sale, and to clean up afterward on Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m.

“We are allowed to shop while we work,” said organizer Ulanah McCoy, “but we pay the same price. The goal is to get rid of the books.”

To volunteer, contact McCoy at 376-3427.