Book sales boost library budget
By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer
For 10 months of the year, the Thomas Memorial Library conference room holds a small fortune, all boxed up and waiting for the annual Columbus Day Book Sale.
The sale includes donated books from the community that are sold at discounted prices to benefit the library. This year the library raised more than $11,000 during the three-day sale.
Inside the cramped conference room in the library’s basement, shoppers squeezed by each other as they perused thousands of books.
Children poured over Judy Bloom and the Babysitters Club series, while their parents and other book lovers browsed long tables lined with biographies, mysteries, romance and humor; some books had never before been opened.
“I like to read, and it’s a great way to help the library. I’m sure I’ll leave with a lot of books,” said Lisa Favreu, the Cape Elizabeth High School athletic trainer.
“There was a woman who lived on one of the islands who would come here every year and get all her winter reading,” said Valerie Hall, chairman of the Thomas Memorial Library Book Sale.
Thomas Memorial earns from $10,000 to $12,000 a year on the book and bake sale held over the holiday weekend and from books in the library annex that are sold all year.
Last year the money paid for a study of structural problems the library faces now and in the future. Himmel and Wilson, the library consultants brought in to survey the library, found more than 100 problems inside Thomas Memorial’s walls.
Any money made from the sale goes into a savings account for the library and is used for projects throughout the year that the library cannot afford in its budget, according to Hall.
Hall said past money from sales has been put toward window treatments, new books and computers.
The library has held the Columbus Day sale for almost two decades, starting only a few years before Hall began working with the book sale more than 14 years ago.
Hall and six other members of the committee meet for two hours every Monday from March to October to alphabetize the books and put them in boxes in preparation for the sale. The week of the sale, members spend more time at the library, setting up tables and putting the books in alphabetical order.
Thursday is always opening night and the library charges a $5 fee for the “presale” unless a donation to the library had been made in a patron’s name earlier in the year.
“On Thursday people line up an hour ahead of opening,” said Hall, “but it’s been steadily busy all weekend.”
For a big push at the end, the last hour of the sale on Saturday afternoon is a bag sale: Anything that can fit in a grocery bag is sold for $3.
But unsold books still have another chance. Thomas Memorial Library donates most of its remaining books to swap stores, teachers and a group at the high school students that sends books to Kenya.
Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson may be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233, or news@inthesentry.com.
Staff Writer
For 10 months of the year, the Thomas Memorial Library conference room holds a small fortune, all boxed up and waiting for the annual Columbus Day Book Sale.
The sale includes donated books from the community that are sold at discounted prices to benefit the library. This year the library raised more than $11,000 during the three-day sale.
Inside the cramped conference room in the library’s basement, shoppers squeezed by each other as they perused thousands of books.
Children poured over Judy Bloom and the Babysitters Club series, while their parents and other book lovers browsed long tables lined with biographies, mysteries, romance and humor; some books had never before been opened.
“I like to read, and it’s a great way to help the library. I’m sure I’ll leave with a lot of books,” said Lisa Favreu, the Cape Elizabeth High School athletic trainer.
“There was a woman who lived on one of the islands who would come here every year and get all her winter reading,” said Valerie Hall, chairman of the Thomas Memorial Library Book Sale.
Thomas Memorial earns from $10,000 to $12,000 a year on the book and bake sale held over the holiday weekend and from books in the library annex that are sold all year.
Last year the money paid for a study of structural problems the library faces now and in the future. Himmel and Wilson, the library consultants brought in to survey the library, found more than 100 problems inside Thomas Memorial’s walls.
Any money made from the sale goes into a savings account for the library and is used for projects throughout the year that the library cannot afford in its budget, according to Hall.
Hall said past money from sales has been put toward window treatments, new books and computers.
The library has held the Columbus Day sale for almost two decades, starting only a few years before Hall began working with the book sale more than 14 years ago.
Hall and six other members of the committee meet for two hours every Monday from March to October to alphabetize the books and put them in boxes in preparation for the sale. The week of the sale, members spend more time at the library, setting up tables and putting the books in alphabetical order.
Thursday is always opening night and the library charges a $5 fee for the “presale” unless a donation to the library had been made in a patron’s name earlier in the year.
“On Thursday people line up an hour ahead of opening,” said Hall, “but it’s been steadily busy all weekend.”
For a big push at the end, the last hour of the sale on Saturday afternoon is a bag sale: Anything that can fit in a grocery bag is sold for $3.
But unsold books still have another chance. Thomas Memorial Library donates most of its remaining books to swap stores, teachers and a group at the high school students that sends books to Kenya.
Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson may be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233, or news@inthesentry.com.
Great story! My local library has a regular sale of their old books, as well as a shop that sells them year round. It's pretty fun to read a book that you know has been enjoyed by so many! If only the book could talk :) Anyway, it's great to hear of communities continuing to support their libraries--thanks!
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