Bookworms and casual readers alike flocked to the Campbell River Community Centre on the weekend to either fill their bags – and the occasional shopping cart – to the brim or just pick up a piece or two to add to their personal libraries.
This year’s annual Rotary Club of Campbell River’s Book sale was the biggest ever, according to book sale coordinator Keith Price.
“This is more tables than we’ve ever had. This is more books than we’ve ever had. I mean, if you look under the tables of books, there are more boxes of books,” Price said, looking around the gym in awe. “Nobody’s even going to see those ones unless they crouch down and sort through them, and they’re probably not going to do that.”
He was right. It was certainly a sight to see.
There were approximately 75,000 books at this year’s event, Price said, based on weight and an average number of books in a pound. “In any case, it’s 35,000 pounds of books,” Price laughed.
Now that the event has wrapped, the books will now be “culled,” and those that still have some resale value will be put into storage for another year.
Books with exceptionally broken spines or torn covers, for example, will be recycled, generating money for the club instead of costing them money to store them.
They receive seven cents per pound for the books they are getting rid of.
“We want to get it down to a number that could be called ‘manageable.’” Price laughed.
Price says previous years’ book sales have brought in between $7,000 and $9,000 to help the club give back to the community throughout the year. Price said they had already passed the $7,000 mark by the end of the first day of this year’s sale.
For more information on Campbell River Rotary’s work, upcoming fundraisers or events, head over to campbellriverrotary.org or follow them on Facebook.