The Friends of Kent Memorial Library are pleased to report that we have had another successful book sale this year. The proceeds from the three-day sale will be used to support Kent Memorial Library programs throughout the year.
Photo from Facebook
Books for sale at Father Ted Hall
The wet weather that forced the closing on Sunday of many booths at Suffield on the Green brought more shoppers to the book sale. At noon on Sunday, 52 people were busy shopping for book bargains. Many took advantage of our Sunday special of $5/bag. As a result, we sold 70% of our massive number of books – an all-time record.
Many “hands” go into making this sale happen. First, thanks to Second Baptist Church for providing us space which permits us to sort and store the thousands of books that are donated to us during the year. Second, is Sacred Heart Church’s generousness allowing us to use Father Ted Hall for our sale for the eleventh year! Without this 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 spacious hall are very much appreciated. Suffield schools loaned, delivered and picked up 20 extra tables we requested. We are so appreciative of the Town’s continued support.
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 our storage location during the year. They sort, label, clean and organize the books into the 60+ categories you have to choose from, putting in thousands of hours.
This was the second year we needed to move our 30,000 books from Second Baptist to Sacred Heart on Labor Day. While moving on a holiday weekend can present a volunteer problem over 40 volunteers showed up, some with pickup trucks or vans and one with a trailer, and we moved all those books in two hours – a new record!
Volunteers also 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, Kristin Allard, Ruth Zimmerman and Anne Borg are the core of the volunteer effort, and each put in hundreds of hours each year. Without our many, many dedicated volunteers, the book sale would be history! Thank you, thank you for all your help.
And we begin again. Monthly book collections, the first Saturday of each month, will begin on Saturday, October 3 from 9:30 a.m. – noon at the library on Main Street. The Friends’ book cart will again be stocked with books for sale at that time. Stop in and browse!