Each year, the Friends of the Library non-profit organization helps support the Moose Jaw Public Library through a number of programs including at least two annual book sales, with the latest sale concluding on the weekend of April 13 – 14.
“Proceeds (from the book sale) are used for projects for the library (and) enhancements that are not covered in their regular budget through the city,” explained Anne Warriner, the sales co-ordinator for Friends of the Library.
The Friends of the Library group provides a critical role in supporting the public library financially. In 2023 alone, Warriner said it helped raise $8,400 through two book sales. This indicates the value behind these semi-annual book sales.
As well, the Friends of the Library donated $24,000 from other sources of fundraising to update the library theatre’s audio-visual equipment. This equipment is now used in programs including a live streaming of astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s Moose Jaw presentation on Feb. 9. and French-language student presentations on April 11.
The organization also supports numerous library initiatives including its reading programs, providing movie licenses for films shown in the library’s theatre, and book kits that are part of an ongoing book club program.
Movie licenses, Warriner said, are legally necessary and enable the library to show newly released films such as Oppenheimer in one recent example. Depending on what films are shown and how many are selected, licensing alone can cost around $1,000 per year.
To source material for each library book sale, Warriner said around half the books are library discards and half are donated by the community. In the case of library discards, these books are either outdated (such as medical encyclopedias) or have never been borrowed.
Each sale contains a wide selection of material and Warriner said cookbooks, mystery novels, romance, science fiction, and Western novels typically sell best. By comparison, magazines rarely sell and typically end up being discarded.
“I can tell you that, if there’s not a good selection of adult non-fiction, we hear more complaints than over other parts of the collection,” she added with a smile.
To explore some recent trends, Warriner said she’s seen magazines continue to decline in popularity, more people are asking for specific authors by name, graphic novels are increasingly popular, and vinyl records are making a noteworthy comeback. The recent sale, for instance, included several of these records.
Any leftover books are barcoded and donated to Better World Books, an organization that provides affordable literature around the world and has helped raise over $35 million for libraries and literacy programs to date, according to its website at BetterWorldBooks.com.
Each time Better World Books sells a book, a percentage of the proceeds are returned to the Friends of the Library in support of its fundraising effort.
Friends of the Library is a volunteer-based, non-profit organization formed in 1989 that operates with the stated purpose of promoting and supporting the Moose Jaw Public Library.
“We’re so grateful to (everyone who stopped by to purchase a book), because there (were) other events in town (that) weekend they could have done instead,” she said. “We certainly appreciate people coming out and supporting us.”
To support the Friends of the Library, the organization maintains a cart near the library’s circulation desk with books and jigsaw puzzles available for purchase. This selection is routinely rotated, and materials can be purchased by speaking with the front desk staff.
To learn more or to apply as a Friends of the Library member, visit MooseJawLibrary.ca/friends-of-the-library.
