It’s the most wonderful time of the year, for book lovers on Vancouver Island at least.
The Times Colonist book drive and sale kicks off this weekend with the book drop-off. Eager volunteers will be ready to accept your unwanted books, and for two weeks, you will have some extra space on your shelves.
On May 4 and 5, you will be able to refill that space when you buy the gems donated by others.
Seems simple enough, right? Yes — but let’s go over some details that will help to make it a better experience for everyone and put more money to work in our community.
Here goes:
The sale is run by the non-profit Times Colonist Literacy Society. Money raised goes to school libraries and literacy organizations. (We also accept donations, and we get matching provincial funds through Decoda Literacy Solutions.)
Since we started the sale in 1998, we have distributed almost $7 million, including almost $300,000 last year.
We will accept books from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Victoria Curling Club at 1952 Quadra St.
We are looking for good-quality books of almost every genre.
Please do not donate books we cannot sell. We have to pay to get rid of them, which reduces the amount of money we can give.
To be specific: No encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines, directories, outdated reference works, Reader’s Digest condensed books or National Geographics.
We also don’t want books that are wet, mouldy, smelly or otherwise damaged.
To repeat: If the book cannot be sold, please do not bring it.
The guidelines for the drop-off are designed to reduce the time it takes you.
The drop-off lineup on Saturday can be long, so be patient. It would be quicker to come by on Sunday, and yes, that’s a hint.
If coming by car, enter off Pembroke Street between Quadra and Blanshard, then follow the volunteers’ directions. (Please don’t come in off Caledonia; the Victoria police need to use that lane.)
The goal is to move people through the vehicle lineup as quickly as we can. Help by staying in your vehicle as volunteers unload your books. Have them packed in boxes or bags that you don’t want back.
If you’re coming on foot or by bike, there will be a spot beside the Quadra Street sidewalk to drop off books, safe from moving cars.
Again, be patient. The people who will help you on Saturday and Sunday are volunteers who care about the community and care about literacy.
Want to join them? We have room for more people during the next two weeks. Contact our volunteer co-ordinator, Mark Taylor, at [email protected] — or just show up at the curling club between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. as your schedule permits.
Thanks in advance for your donations. We will look for you — and your books — this weekend.
For more information or to donate, go to tcreads.ca.
