The book is not dead. That was clearly shown Saturday and Sunday as thousands of people queued up at the Victoria Curling Club for the opportunity to fill their libraries at bargain prices.
Volunteerism is also alive and well in Victoria, as evidenced by the hours put in by dozens of sa国际传媒 Book Sale volunteers who received, sorted and helped sell all those books.
Figures aren鈥檛 in for this year鈥檚 event, but last year鈥檚 sale raised $157,000 for the sa国际传媒 Raise A Reader literacy fund, part of the $2 million raised over the past 18 years.
And to quote Philip Kives, the late, great TV pitchman of K-tel fame: 鈥淏ut wait, there鈥檚 more!鈥�
Patrons of the book sale weren鈥檛 merely buying books, they were seeking treasures, sorting through countless volumes in hopes of finding out-of-print or hard-to-find titles. Some came armed with lists; others depended on joyful serendipity. The searching is almost as much fun as the finding.
Many people donate the books they bought at the previous year鈥檚 sale, then dive in during the sale to stock up on reading material they will bring back for next year鈥檚 sale. Recycling doesn鈥檛 get much better than this.
Nothing goes to waste. On Monday, schools and non-profit groups carted away loads of them for free. The rest will be sold to a wholesaler, with those proceeds added to the donation total.
The sa国际传媒 makes the book sale possible, but it鈥檚 the community that makes it happen.
