Friends of the Library book sale attracts bargain hunters

Friends of the Library – Fernandina Beach

Last minute book sorting by FOL volunteer

Book Sale – Peck Center Gym

Friday, November 2: 9:30  – 6  p.m.

Saturday, November 3: 9:30  – 3 p.m.

Submitted by Susan Hardee Steger

Outside the soon to be opened doors of the Peck Center gym where thousands of books are stacked, sits Elizabeth Baxley from Middleburg, Florida and Ed Bunker from Jacksonville.   They wait patiently, to be one of the first in line for the opening of the twice yearly Friends of the Library (FOL) book sale.

For them, the book sale is serious business.  They are book dealers who come armed with cell phones equipped with scanners to find  bargain books, videos and tapes.  Baxley and Bunker quickly determine the condition of the book, and evaluate the potential profit before a purchase is made.  They load their carts and head home to sell their purchases on the internet.  No storefront operations for most book sellers; it is just too expensive.

Bunker’s greatest  find was a book on pain management that netted him a $350.  Books such as Unintended Consequences and Jim Butcher’s Storm Front brought in $100 each.

Anne Sparkle, removes last books from sorting room

What is business for some, is hard volunteer work for others.  Anne Sparkle, FOL book sorting supervisor and her volunteer staff spend months before the sale sorting books that are donated through out the year.  The sorting room, once the Peck High School Boys Locker Room, provide cramped working conditions for volunteers as the number of donated books grow.

Readers flock to the event loading up book bags with bargain books. The twice a year book selling effort brings  $16,000 per year to FOL coffers.  But, it is more than a money making operation.  The event encourages reading and encourages avid readers to read even more.

The Friends of the Library are undertaking another fundraising event on November 15 at 6:00 p.m. For $30 a dinner at Sliders Seaside Grill (second floor) with author illustrator Joy Bateman will be held.  Bateman recently published The Art of Dining on Amelia Island.  Tickets are available at the Fernandina Beach Branch Library.

November 2, 2012 10:35 a.m.