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 $15,500. This money will be used to support Kent Memorial Library programs and purchase materials for the library throughout the year.
Many “hands” helped to make this sale happen. When we lost our warehouse storage area in September 2018, our First Selectman, Melissa Mack, found a room for us at 230C Mountain Road. When we outgrew that space this July, the Town moved us temporarily to Ffyler Place, where we did our final book sorting before the sale. Then the Town pitched in again. The Public Works crew (Jim Richardson, Jim Johnson, Clint White, and Linda Zaffetti), helped organize our August 24 book move from Ffyler Place to Father Ted Hall. This big operation included the supervision of eight prisoners, who lifted heavy tables and almost 900 boxes of books. After the book sale, Town workers, again aided by prisoners, moved 37 boxes of leftover books back to our space at 230C Mountain Road. It’s a wonderful team effort; we are so appreciative of the Town’s continued support.
Equally important was the warm, welcoming invitation we received from Sacred Heart Church to use Father Ted Hall for our sale for the fifth year in a row! This is a wonderful place for a book sale, with handicapped accessibility; clean, convenient rest rooms; and a spacious room in which we can display all of our books. When we held the sale on the library lawn, we had to carry all of the tables, loaded with books, back into the library on Saturday night then back out again Sunday morning. At Father Ted Hall, we simply straighten the books, turn out the lights, and lock the doors. Our volunteers are so grateful!
Finally, we have all of our generous donors and many dedicated volunteers. This sale could not happen without them. Volunteers sort, label, clean, price, and organize the books into the seventy-plus categories shoppers can choose from each year, putting in thousands of hours. They set up the books, act as cashiers and help us break down after the sale. Kerry and Bob White, Nancy Smith, Ruth Zimmerman, and Anne Borg 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 will resume on Saturday, October 5 from 10 a.m. — noon at our newly reopened library at 50 N. Main Street. The Friends’ book cart will again be stocked with books for sale at that time. Stop in and browse!