Vehicles were lined up for several blocks Saturday as drivers waited patiently to donate to the annual Times Colonist book drive.
They made a procession through the parking lot at the Victoria Curling Club and from there stretched along Quadra Street, from Pembroke all the way to Bay.
Eager donors had volunteers heaving books from trunks and back seats by 8 a.m., a full hour before their scheduled start, said co-ordinator Mark Taylor.
Makeshift aisles inside the curling club were bursting with books in just a few hours, and a crowd of helpers was dealing with the steady flow of volumes coming in.
The workers will be back in force Sunday at the 1952 Quadra St. site from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The book drive and sale keeps building on its success from year to year, Taylor said.
“This is such an amazingly popular community event supporting literacy,” he said. “We’re doing everything we possibly can to get people through as quickly and as safely as possible.
“We’ve got amazing volunteers who show up every year.”
Taylor said more volunteers are always welcome, and people are invited to drop by Sunday if they’d like to help the crew with the unloading.
“It’s a fun, enjoyable team atmosphere, and everyone here is here for the love of books and the love of literacy.”
Helping get the books from vehicles to the curling club floor were several members of the Royal Bay Secondary Student Book Club.
“Every year we have benefited from the Times Colonist grants, and although we’ve always donated books we’ve never volunteered before,” said Sheila Martin, a Royal Bay library assistant.
Club member Emma Kennelly, a Grade 11 student, has been a fan of the Times Colonist effort for some time.
“It’s about all different genres of books — fiction, non-fiction.”
She said she is happy to help. “I have some free time and I can do some community-service work. Why not?”
Barbara and Peter Hoffman are regular donors to the book drive and were back again on Saturday.
“We totally approve of this,” said Barbara. “We think it’s a great community event.”
It’s also gives them a great way to pass along their old books, she said.
Victoria Coun. Chris Coleman showed up Saturday for his usual stint at the book drive, which he described as “community at its finest moment.”
“I’ve always been a supporter of different literacy initiatives and this is a fabulous one,” he said. “The benefit is seen in a couple of weeks when people come back for the book sale to buy their summer reading.”
The book sale takes place at the curling club May 6 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and May 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.It was started in 1998 and has since raised over $6 million for literacy on Vancouver Island, largely through grants made to schools.
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Here’s what you need to know for this weekend’s book drive.
• We’re collecting books at the Victoria Curling Club (1952 Quadra St.) from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
• But we don’t want just any books. Please bring only good-quality used books. Not accepted: encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines, atlases, directories, Reader’s Digest condensed books or National Geographics. These types of items don’t sell and organizers have to pay to dispose of them.
• To speed up the unloading process, pack books in boxes and bags you don’t want back.
• If you are arriving by vehicle, go to the Victoria Curling Club parking lot. The entrance is off Pembroke Street between Quadra and Blanshard. (Don’t come in off Caledonia; the Victoria police need to use that lane.) Please stay in your vehicle while volunteers unload your books.
• There is a separate drop-off box for pedestrians and cyclists at the entrance to the Victoria Curling Club on Quadra Street.
• Want to buy some books? The sale itself will be held in two weeks, on May 6 and 7, at the curling club.
• The event is organized by the Times Colonist Literacy Society. The non-profit distributes the money raised in the form of grants for school libraries and literacy organizations on Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands. In all, the book sale has raised more than $6 million for literacy-related programs since it began in 1998.
