More than 150,000 books will be up for sale at deep discounts at the McKinley High School cafeteria when Friends of the Library of Hawaii opens the doors to its 70th Annual Book Sale at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The book sale — the state’s largest and oldest — is an island tradition that attracts nearly 15,000 Hawaii residents and book lovers from the mainland every year. The nine-day sale with bargains on books, media, games and puzzles ends July 23.

CDs, DVDs, comics, manga and a catalog of rare and collectible books will be on display, with new merchandise added daily.

“That’s the cool thing about this sale,” said Nainoa Mau, Friends of the Library executive director. “You can come in the beginning, but as the tables clear we’re going to bring more out and you never know what you’re going to find.”

All books in the organization’s catalog will be available for purchase, including rare Hawaii titles. An extensive selection of modern art, prints from local artists, lithographs and sculptures are also back for this year’s sale.

Thrifty shoppers can wait until July 22 when everything will be 50 percent off — or hold off for the final day of the event when all merchandise will be priced at only 50 cents.

More than 400 volunteers staff the sale along with some 75 year-round volunteers who help process donations.

As part of sale preparations, volunteers unpack and sort books into 75 categories. Football players from McKinley High School and Farrington High School also help move racks and supplies.

Retired Navy Cmdr. William Little is a year-round group volunteer who helps to price and sort through about 4,000 boxes of books. Books — specifically military history books — are his favorite. The Navy veteran is writing one about his father’s involvement in World War II.

Little has been a volunteer with the book sale for two years, and said he has come across “some wonderful books” that have helped him write his own.

“For me it’s just a no-brainer — it’s a win-win and I love it,” he said. “My Page 3 of my book came out of those three books,” Little said, referring to a set of military logistics books he discovered two weeks ago. “The history of how my dad’s unit came into being, who thought the idea, who created the concept.”

Over 75 percent of the organization’s 150,000 books and media are purchased during the sale, said Mau.

Excess books are donated to medical centers, local libraries and social service agencies. Those left over from the final sale will be sent to Reach Out Pacific, a local nonprofit organization that supports library development in Micronesia.

The book sale brings in about $200,000 for the organization, said Mau, and the sale pays for programs outside of the regular state budget for Hawaii’s 50 public libraries.

Among sponsors are the Hawaii State Federal Credit Union, Renee B. Fisher Foundation, Pension Services Corp. Hawaii, Rezents and Crowley LLP, Hawaii Foodservice Alliance, Safeway, Foodland and Zippy’s.