It's Ontario Public Library Week and the celebrations planned are off the shelf.

Buy, battle, and barter at the Collingwood Public Library for library week.

The third week of October is Ontario Public Library Week, and the local library has three events planned for bibliophiles to celebrate the special occasion.

Kicking off the stacked week is the Big Book Sale from Friday, Oct. 12 to Sunday, Oct. 14 in the Art Walk. This is the largest annual book sale at the Collingwood library, and you’ll surely find a page-turner or two do add to your volumes. There will be a variety of gently-used books for sale including fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books. They’re priced to sell with most at $2 or less.

If you say “peas,” you might just be forgiven your late-book fines, and you won’t even need to cook up an excuse. During Library Week (Oct. 14-20) bring in non-perishable food items to be donated to the local food bank and be excused of your library-related transgressions.

Finally, the week ends in a great book battle with readers on five fronts meeting in a mass of melee for a chance to be the people’s champion. Georgian Bay Reads is back on Oct. 20 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Meaford Hall. This annual event models the CBC Canada Reads event and features defenders from five area libraries building a case for the next hit literary work for Georgian Bay readers. Clearview, Collingwood, Meaford, Springwater and Wasaga Beach public libraries have sent their defenders, but who will prevail?

Cheer on your local knight of the hardcover Catherine Gildiner, representing Collingwood Public Library and defending Happy Shades by Alice Munro. You can learn more about her opponents here.

Only so many peasants will be allowed to witness the joust, so get a ticket at the Collingwood Public Library public services desk to ensure you’ll have a seat at the fray.