Those first flakes of snow that descended on Winnipeg October 20, 2013, were a reminder to stock up on your reading material for the winter soon to follow. You can count on your Friends to help with that.
Not only do the Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library strive to make our libraries the best they can be, they can also enhance your personal library through their used book sales.
Supporters of pubic libraries revel in the volunteer run Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library’s free admission annual book sale. The 9th annual book sale at Grant Park High School Gym runs Saturday, October 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, October 27 from noon to 3 pm when all remaining books are half price. Other attractions include a draw for a gift basket from Best Of Friends Gift Shop, CDs and DVDs for sale and to celebrate The Nobel Prize for Literature, a special sale table of Alice Munro books.
For Billie Stewart, Book Sale Convener, the year round work involved in putting on the two day sale is a labour of love. Under her tutelage, the annual Friends fall sales have raised approximately $50,000 over the past eight years. Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers, all monies go directly to enhance projects in the Winnipeg Library system.
Ms. Stewart says hot sellers are fiction, mysteries and children’s books. This year she created a table for books she calls “worth it for the illustrations” namely books that are old but with magnificent artwork on quality paper that can be repurposed for a variety of art projects.
Since 2000 the Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library has dispersed over $100,000 for various library projects and in 2013 alone contributed over $21,000. Special 2013 projects include scanning and cataloguing the Rob McInnes Collection of historical Winnipeg postcards, the purchase of Family Literacy Activity Station components, and Aboriginal Literacy Day fun kits. The Friends reprinted Vol. 2 of The Past is Another Country, a book written by newcomers.
Membership Chair, Kathy Bight, proudly notes that this year the Friends sponsored the Spring Break Family Programs and provided prizes for the TD Summer Reading Club and the Teen-on-Line Reading Club. The Friends will co-sponsor Meira Cook as the 2013/14 Writer-in- Residence.
Once the big sale is over readers can buy used books throughout the year thanks to donations from book lovers from the Friends cart located by the Best of Friends Gift Shop, at the Millennium Library entrance.
To celebrate the 8th anniversary of the gift shop, Susan Fraser, store manager, has organized a sale with prizes, treats, discounts and more from Nov. 13-16. On November 14, local artists whose works are for sale at Best of Friends will be present to answer questions about their work.
Best of Friends Gift Shop hours are weekdays 11 am to 4 pm; Saturdays noon – 3pm and Sundays 1pm-4pm.
Phone 204-947-0110.
If some of your best friends are books, wait till you meet The Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library!
This is a great book sale. It’s the reason I became a member of the Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library!