FOL reports March Book Sale Exceeded Expectations!

Friends of the Library
Press Release
April 29, 2022

We are pleased to report that the long-awaited March Book Sale exceeded our expectations! Not only did we renew our friendships with past book sale patrons, we made new friends with those who attended for the first time and our efforts raised over $18,000 for our Library.
FOL book sales are both a community event and a community effort, totally volunteer driven. We especially thank the strong back willing hand early risers who in 5 hours set up 98 tables and moved 1200+ 30lb cartons of books from our sorting room to the Peck Gymnasium floor. With setup complete, more volunteers added the finishing touches before the sale opened at 5pm. Over the next four days, FOL board members and families, FOL members, high school student volunteers and community volunteers worked over 200 shifts helping to sell more than 20,000 items in 25 hours. Many returned on Saturday after the sale closed to help us in breaking down the sales floor and returning the Peck Gym to normal. We simply could not accomplish this without the wonderful willing volunteers who gave their time and energy with talent and good humor.
We also appreciate the support of the Fernandina Beach News Leader and the Fernandina Beach Observer with the underwriting of promotional advertising. We are also grateful to the many local businesses who posted our Book Sale flyers and to Publix and Harris Teeter for saving the various fruit and vegetable boxes so valuable to our sale.
Our thanks also go out to our tireless group of volunteers, veterans and newcomers, who worked 250 hours across 13 days before the sale, preparing the categorized boxes of the thousands of books generously donated by our community for the first sale since November 2019. When the sale finally arrived, they and many others were there over the 4-day event greeting you at the door, helping on the sales floor, totaling your purchases, collecting payments, packing any remaining books, and carrying your ”new” books to your car.
Along with our legion of volunteers, the FOL team of President Jody Mackle, Treasurer Margaret Bellucci, Anne Martin, our Volunteer Chair, Mary Louise Hester, Michael Wurdack, and Claudia Zane deserve special kudos for the work they contributed to making our sale a success. It is only through all of our combined efforts that we were able to bring the renewed FOL book sale to the community. The dates for the next sale will be published soon. We look forward to seeing everyone there!
Vicki Harnage Whittemore
FOL Book Sale ChairConsider