By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Northborough – A year of planning by over 40 volunteers will culminate as the Friends of the Northborough Library welcome the community to its major fundraiser: the annual Big Book Sale.
Among the nonprofit organization’s experienced volunteers is Ellen Church. A longtime Friends member, she’s beginning her fourth term as president and previously served as membership secretary.
“We have four book sales throughout the year and this is our biggest one,” she noted.
The annual Big Book Sale is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, and Friday, March 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday, March 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. A preview for Friends members will take place Wednesday, March 25, from 3 to 8 p.m.
Library patrons can choose from a large selection of gently-used fiction, nonfiction, hardcovers and paperbacks, children’s books, CDs, DVDs, videos and audiobooks, Church noted.
“We have over 10,000 books,” she announced. “There’s always so many books in the Community Room that we often can’t fit the checkout table inside there. And we usually have two tables full of media, displayed on top of and below the tables.”
Funds raised help the Friends sponsor programs, purchase items and pay for expenses that aren’t covered by the town budget. Since the 2009 expansion of the building opened, the Friends have paid for all library pages who shelve books and assist librarians.
“The largest expense is paying the library pages,” Church explained. “The library pages had been paid for by the town. At this point we can pay for them, so we’ll do it.”
She and other Friends members share an affinity with pages.
“You will find that the majority of library staff, trustees and Friends were all pages at one point in their teenage years,” she said. “I was a library page.”
Another ongoing Friends expense is offering museum passes to families. Passes are available for many museums statewide including the EcoTarium, Discovery, Isabella Stewart Gardner, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Peabody Essex.
“These museums are great places for learning,” Church said. “It’s all part of the library’s mission to disseminate knowledge and information.”
The summer reading programs for children, teens and adults also receive support from the Friends. Over $3,000 was recently approved by the Friends for this summer’s programs. Among the activities planned is a science, technology, engineering and math program in the Children’s Room for girls ages 8 to 11. For teens and adults, a comic and cartooning workshop will be instructed by professional artists Andy and Veronica Fish.
Church is grateful to everyone who volunteers and donates items to make the book sale a success.
“I have several volunteers who have boxes and boxes of books in their houses, which they bring in right before the sale,” she said. “We accept book donations all year.”
The Friends are still accepting donations of gently-used books and media items at the Northborough Free Library. Donations should be brought to the library only during the open hours. Items should not be left outside the library. Also, items should not include magazines, Reader’s Digest condensed books, encyclopedia sets, or anything in poor condition.
A tradition will continue during the fundraiser’s final hour, Saturday, from 3 to 4 p.m., when shoppers can purchase any number of items they can fit in a paper bag for $5. Throughout each day, many books will be priced at 50 cents and $1.
“We’re a sharing economy,” Church said. “The books are priced cheaply, but that small amount of money adds up to a lot of benefit for the library and for the community.”
For more information, visit northboroughlibrary.org.