[Publib] book sale ideas?

[Andrea Berstler]

Mark,
Our building is just over 3100 square feet and includes the library and
community center - so I understand your concern on space. And I have 7
staff, and there is never quite enough time to go through the donations to
look for possible additions to the collection. It sometimes feels like the
laundry - Just about the time you think you have it caught up - someone
shows up with another box - or 3. 

Our library board purchased one of those shed units several years ago (10 by
15 I think) and installed shelving (2x4's and plywood). It is our book
storage for donations. I am very fortunate to have a dedicated volunteer who
sorts through the boxes of donations, organizes them into categories
(paperback, bestsellers, different non-fiction topics, children's, movies,
etc), prices them for sale and recycles the unusable (Which you will get
with donations). Our volunteer likes helping this way because he can work on
this whenever it suits him. He and his wife are retired and travel, but he
can help the library when he is home.  

Before he came we had lots of books that traveled in and out of the shed to
the booksales (which are held in the community center in the library), but
they never sold. We were just too busy to try to go through them all. After
each sale he pulls out books that have seen too many sales and they move on.
This keeps the number of items manageable and the booksale buyers get new
stuff to look at each sale. The amounts we raise have increased since he
took over this event. 

We accept donations all year long except for the 3 days before each of our
booksales. We hold 2 sales - one in May and one in November - Last book sale
we made over $1200. The take usually ranges between $900 and $1100.  We have
a donated items policy, which we share with our patrons. This does help cut
down on some of the unusable stuff. I would be glad to sent you a copy if
you would like. 

If you are planning on making donations a part of your money raising plans -
I would suggest finding a volunteer(s) to help so that you have fresh stuff
for each sale, find a storage shed or other place outside your location if
possible, advertise, and if you have interest - sell early admittance
passes. We have book dealers standing in line at the door. If they join our
Friends group they can get in 1/2 hour early to our sales. Also - once the
word is out that you are taking donations, you get lots - especially at
spring and fall cleaning times and just after Christmas. (that has been our
experience anyway).

Good luck, 
Andrea
________________________________

Andrea Berstler
Director - The Village Library of Morgantown
207 N Walnut St
Morgantown, PA 19543
www.villagelibrary.org
Preserving the Past . . . Preparing for the Future. . . 


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Mark Smith
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 3:06 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] book sale ideas?

My circulation supervisor has graciously taken over planning for our 2nd
annual book sale of donated items and asked that I pose a question about
what other successful sales "teams" have done to secure adequate quality
donations, advertise, price items, etc.  We don't have a Friends group, so
the responsibility falls to our staff of 6.  Our collection policy grants us
the right to use donations as we see fit, but I'm reluctant to broadly
solicit donations for fear of where to put boxes and boxes in our 3000
sq.ft. building.  We want to maximize the potential- or make the most money
we can!

Further on the Hobbit, our local school district uses Reading Counts at the
elementary and middle schools, and Accelerated Reader at the high school.
The test at elementary lists reading level as 7.4 (21 points) while the
middle school test lists it as 8.1 (21 points).  AR at the high school lists
the reading level as 6.6 (16 points). IMHO as a long-time 2nd grade teacher
who has also taught pre-school to high school, the worst thing education has
done to undermine a child's motivation to develop a love of reading is
implementing standardized testing programs to satisfy accountability to
elected officials controlling budget dollars.  (End of
soapbox!)

Mark Smith, Director
Sullivan Public Library
Sullivan, Missouri
Mark Smith
Sullivan Public Library Director
104 West Vine St
Sullivan, MO 63080
573-468-4372
spldirector at real.more.net

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