Photo by Bob White
Dealers and adult bibliophiles crowd the tables at Friday evening’s paid preview of this year’s bigger-than-ever book sale offered by the Friends of the Library in Father Ted Hall.
The Friends of Kent Memorial Library are pleased to report that we have had another successful book sale this year. Our proceeds from the three-day sale were over $16,200. This money is used to support Kent Memorial Library programs and purchase materials for the library throughout the year.
Many “hands” go into making this sale happen. First, the donated space at Windsor Marketing Group’s (WMG) Windsor Locks warehouse has been a huge help over the past six years. This space allows us to collect, sort and store the thousands of books that are donated to us during the year. WMG also provides us with a truck and driver to move the thousands of books to the sale location in August – a real help!
Second is the generous invitation by Sacred Heart Church to use Father Ted Hall for our sale for the third year in a row! Without this wonderful space, we would be hard pressed to find another suitable location, and this is definitely “suitable.” The handicapped accessibility of the building, the clean, convenient rest rooms and the comfortable air-conditioned room are very much appreciated. We were able again this year to hold an early-bird sale Friday night that many customers like because their schedules don’t permit them to attend the sale on Saturday or Sunday. Our volunteers are especially grateful for this indoor location. Gone were the worries about what to do in case of rain. When the sale closed on Saturday night, we didn’t have to carry tables filled with heavy books into the library for overnight protection. We simply straightened the books, turned out the lights and locked the doors.
Third is the generous help we get from John Cloonan, Head of Town Facilities, and Mark Cervione and his crew (including Linda Zaffetti). Clint White supervised prisoners who helped load books at the warehouse end, and Jim Johnson operated a fork lift to remove books from the WMG truck as volunteers moved the 40,000 books and media into the church two weeks before the sale. Jim also supervised prisoners who helped with the clean up on Tuesday after the sale. It’s a wonderful team effort.
And then we have all our generous book donors and loyal volunteers. This sale could not happen without them. Volunteers sort donated books on the first Saturday of each month at the library-all year! Volunteers move hundreds of boxes of donated books to the warehouse during the year. They sort and label and clean and organize the books into the 60+ categories you have to choose from each year, putting in thousands of hours. They set up the books and work the book sale, act as cashiers and help us break down after the sale. Kerry and Bob White, Nancy Smith, Ruth Zimmerman, Anne Borg, and Vern Taylor are the core of the volunteer effort and each puts in hundreds of hours each year. Without our many, many dedicated volunteers, the book sale would be history! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your help.
And we begin again. Monthly book collections for next year’s sale will begin on Saturday, October 7 from 10 a.m. – noon at the temporary library on Ffyler Place. The Friends book cart will again be stocked with books for sale at that time. Stop in and browse!