Books have been flying off the shelves at the Wareham Free Library the past two days as readers flocked to the annual July used book sale, one of the biggest fundraisers for the cash-strapped Wareham Library.

"I'm really pleased. Between the past two days we've raised over $1,200," said Priscilla Porter, president of the Friends of the Wareham Library, the organization running the event. That number includes many books selling for as cheap as 25 cents.

Porter said over the course of the year, the Friends pull in about $14,000 between the eight or so book sales they hold and the books on sale year-round in the lobby. The proceeds of the sale, which will run for one more day on Saturday, go to the Friends organization which helps supplement the library's operating budget.

"The money will go toward books and materials so we can provide as much as possible to the people in town," Porter said.

Since the Proposition 2 1/2 override budget was voted down on in June, the library received $125,000 in funding from the town for the fiscal year that started on July 1. That is $300,000 less than the budget from just two years ago and what the library would have received in the override budget.

The state Board of Library Commissioners said the library would be decertified as of Dec. 4, 2014 if the library budget is not restored to the 2013 level of $432,835. That means that Wareham library patrons would be unable to borrow books and materials from other libraries.

At a meeting last month Town Administrator Derek Sullivan said it was brought to his attention that the fiscal year 2013 and 2014 state aid grants for the library had not been expended, equal to about $38,000. He said he intended to add that amount to the library's budget for the 2015 fiscal year.

Despite the lack of funding, the library has had no shortage of donated books this weekend. Porter said the donation bin in the lobby, which is roughly six feet long and three feet wide, was filled to capacity on Wednesday, emptied, and then filled again on Thursday and Friday.

"The people in this town are incredibly generous," she said.

Porter said the most popular books at the sale have been cookbooks, garden books and mysteries. They've also sold plenty of kids books, which sell for a quarter each.

While the library has sold hundreds of books over the last two days, there are still plenty of books from all different genres available on the final day of the book sale, Saturday, July 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.