With my heartfelt thanks…..

The 2022 Book Sale is over, the left-over books are gone, the floors have been swept, the money has been counted, and the avalanche of post-sale chores is slowing down enough that I now have time to reflect on the past three months.

What a ride it has been for my first year as Book Sale Committee Coordinator!

Not being able to find a large sale space, we had a late start after making the extremely difficult decision to take a much smaller space (about one third of our usual requirements). When we got the key to the venue we lookedaround and thought ….. so how are we going to do this?

The Book Sale Core Committee and its working groups just dug in and put into practice what they knew worked in the past, and applied and modified methods to fit the new reduced space.

The result, according to our exit survey, was successful. Patrons like the bright, clean atmosphere with separate rooms for particular genres of books, even if it was a little crowded at times. This result was reached by dedicated work over a period of about three months of over 200 volunteers: the Book Sale Core Committee and working groups, donation receivers, disposal crews and sorters, sale day assistants, parking attendants, cash and banking help, left-over packing, clean-up and storage, etc., and the cooperation of neighbours in the building.Each year some volunteers go above and beyond to make the sale a success, and a few make me appreciate the length friends go to help friends:

• the volunteer who thought that the price list was difficult to read for those with limited vision and took it upon herself to enlarge the price list, then printed dozens of copies ready for display,
• the volunteer who sold personal books on-line during the pandemic and donated the proceeds to the book sale,
• the volunteer who travels some distance each year to come to Guelph for a long weekend in order to help at the sale,
• JBT Transport, our neighbour in the building, who offered to move pallets of books for us at the end of the sale. We ordered a truck for noon, but when it arrived at 7:00 a.m. these neighbours went ahead and loaded the truck for us before the coordinator was even out of her pyjamas!
• The donor who ensured that up to 1,000 children received a free book.

I am grateful to the Core Committee and Working Groups for always having my back, for offering sound advice and assistance as I struggled with a steep learning curve. All of our volunteers contributed to the success of the sale and each deserves my thanks and gratitude. Their effort not only contributed to the Book Sale but contributed to the community at large and to the Friends of the Guelph Public Library’s effort to support the Public Library.

Was it worth it? Absolutely! As a result of the 2022 book sale, we can now add approximately $52,000 to the accumulating monies. We now have about 1 million dollars invested with the Guelph Community Foundation for special initiatives in the new main library building.

However, at the outset of this sale, it was determined that this sale was not about money. We really wanted Guelph to know that “we are back!” and that a cherished community event will continue into the future.

With grateful thanks to over 200 volunteers,

May Goodwin, Coordinator, 2022 Book Sale Committee