Used bookstore purchases benefit Gilmer County Library programs
The Gilmer County Library is not only a place to check out a book on loan. You can also buy one (or many) to take home for $2 or less apiece.
The library’s used bookstore, The Bookshelf, is run by volunteers, most of whom are members of the Friends of the Gilmer Library (FOGL).
The bookstore is usually in need of additional volunteers, but, at the moment, it’s good in that regard. What it could use is more customers, said Becky Oliver, Bookshelf manager.
“We’re in good shape volunteer-wise, which is unusual. We have about 25 volunteers right now, and we’ve had several new ones join in the past month,” said Oliver. “All of our proceeds go back to the library so they can buy more books, summer program materials and whatever else they might need. We would like to give them more.”
The Bookshelf is a unique fundraising device for Gilmer’s Sequoyah Regional Library System branch. Several Sequoyah Regional branches have used books for sale in some form, but not an actual bookstore where customers can browse, pay a volunteer for their selections or ask questions.
The Bookshelf has been a fixture at the local library since the current location on Calvin Jackson Drive (also the entrance to Mountain View Elementary School) opened in 2007. The little bookstore has its regulars, but it’s not unusual for both locals and out of towners to be surprised when visiting for the first time, Oliver noted.
“A lot of people don’t realize, for one, that we have (such a nice library), and that there’s actually a bookstore in the library,” she added. “During the summer, we kind of count on out-of-town folks and tourists to come in and buy books because they can’t check anything out unless they have a library card. Now that school has started back and we’ll start seeing fewer tourists, the more people who come to visit the library will also hopefully mean more people who might stumble onto the bookstore.”
At The Bookshelf, hardback adult fiction and nonfiction books sell for $2, while paperbacks and other volumes can be had for less. If a rare or limited edition of a book in good shape is donated, sometimes the library friends will sell those on Amazon for higher prices, noted Oliver. A new “quaint books” section at The Bookshelf features rare and classic editions that are in well-read shape, she added.
“We’re always in need of gently used and new fiction and nonfiction books to be donated. Right now, we seem to have more nonfiction than fiction,” said Oliver. “With school starting back, we are featuring a bunch of educational material and for kids in public schools or homeschool.”
The COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary hold on The Bookshelf’s fundraising efforts, but business has picked up since the library fully reopened. It’s still not quite at the level of just a few years ago, Oliver noted.
“We’d just like to get more people to come in and see what we have,” she said. “We have a lot of books, magazines, jigsaw puzzles and other things at prices you can’t beat. Two dollars is the most you’re going to spend (for a single book), and it goes all the way down to 25 cents for magazines. We also (usually) have audiobooks, CDs and DVDs.”
The bookstore is staffed by volunteers most of the time, but it stays open as long as the library each day. A drop box allows customers to pay for their purchases when a volunteer is not on hand. The Bookshelf’s staff is not paid, so all proceeds from sales go toward helping the library.
“I want to give accolades to our volunteers. It’s amazing all that they do with the people coming in and giving their time. They are very much interested in helping the community, and they like to read, so it’s a win-win for everybody,” Oliver said.