Most of Virginia’s libraries are open again, and some are planning fundraisers after the long, hard COVID winter. Among them, the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library which serves Charlottesville, Albemarle, Green, Louisa and Nelson Counties. Volunteers are getting ready for a really big sale
During the pandemic, Jefferson-Madison offered drive-thru and curbside pick-up of materials ordered online, but Director David Plunkett says patrons were thrilled when they could return in person.
“I heard from a staff member that somebody came in and kissed the ground when they were allowed back into one of our branches," he says. "While I’m pretty sure that violated our COVID protocols, that was a nice sentiment.”
And many people who had spent the pandemic cleaning house were anxious to donate books for the annual fundraising sale. Peter Manno with Friends of the Library says dozens of volunteers have been organizing more than 100,000 used volumes – pricing each individually to assure the system gets as much money as possible. Many will sell for a dollar or less, but not all.
“Just a few years ago we had what seemed like an unusual book about salmon fishing on a particular river," he recalls. "We thought it might be something that we’d be able to sell for $20-$25, and we looked it up. This was a book that at its last auction sale was $5,500.”
The Friends were poised to host their spring sale in 2020 when the pandemic hit. It was postponed along with a fall sale and this year’s spring event, so Manno says they rented extra space at a vacant big-box store and will hold a warehouse sale between July 9th and 11th.
