Happy 2024, Friends! As we look ahead to the new year with our plans and aspirations, we also look back at the accomplishments of 2023. This is the first year that it seemed like Covid was in our rearview mirror! We had three very successful book sales attended by enthusiastic crowds. These are the major fundraisers for our library projects, so we are proud to have done so well!!
Our December book sale was particularly successful. Thanks to the donations to our store, we had a wonderful selection of books, CDs, and DVDs. All year we collected holiday books for adults and children. These were scooped up by happy shoppers. On Sunday, shoppers filled paper bags to the brim for $5! For volunteers, the best part was hearing and seeing the appreciation of the public. So many thanked us for volunteering our time and making this sale possible for our community.
Speaking of volunteers, thanks to recruitment online and at the store, we have many new volunteers now working in our bookstore. We have been able to extend hours and now are open on Sundays as we were before Covid. We have Roberto Souza of CV News to thank for publicizing our needs on Facebook, Instagram, and his news program. Sue Robertson has been active in contacting potential volunteers and Joan King has been responsible for their training. This definitely has been a team effort and we are so pleased to have these new, enthusiastic volunteers working in our bookstore!
Castro Valley Reads is upon us!! The Friends provide the books for this community wide event. Kickoff is scheduled for February 4. Hopefully, you will be involved either with your book clubs or with the discussion groups organized by Chris Selig, Adult Services Librarian. This is a program the Friends are very proud to support!
Our eBay sales continue to bring in revenue! Our hardworking eBay team (Amber Marsh, Amy Fain, and Sari Weis) post the unusual and higher value donations and then send them off to happy buyers. We’re so lucky to have these great donations as well as the volunteers to advertise and disperse them!
We hope to see you at our bookstore soon! We have new materials on display weekly. Be sure to peruse the front shelf where materials of special interest are placed. And remember too, that we love to receive your donations of new books! They are very popular! Here’s to a great 2024!!