Readers in Prince Albert who are looking for a new biography or a classic piece of fiction will have a chance to find it when the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) opens their doors on Friday for the first day of their annual Spring Book Sale.
This year’s sale returns to the traditional location of South Hill Place. CFUW member and volunteer organizer Gail Syverson said they’re always happy to see the book sale return.
“We’re excited to have the book sale here in this space at this time of year with this many volunteers and this many books, “Syverson said.
Prince Albert non-profit SHARE stored all CFUW books over the winter and started delivering them Tuesday morning so volunteers could begin setting up.
Syverson estimates they stored around 400 boxes of books at SHARE. While those boxes are being stored over the winter, Prince Albert residents continue to donate books, she added. That means volunteers have a significant amount of stock to sort through before the sale opens.
CFUW President Barb Gustafson estimated that there were over 10,000 books delivered Tuesday morning.
“We have not yet received the load of nonfiction,” Syverson said as SHARE volunteers delivered another load of books.
Proceeds from this year’s sale will go towards CFUW scholarships handed out to female high school students. Last year, they gave out six scholarships valued at $700 each.
“This book sale has for many years supported our scholarship fund and for the last several years we have been able to donate approximately $5,000 a year in scholarships to local high schools,” Syverson said.
“That’s one of our main raison d’etre,” she added. “We believe in supporting education for youth and we are helped in our project by many community groups who also believe in that.
“SHARE has been amazing we couldn’t do this without their help. The PA Optimist Club has been very supportive for a number of years they have provided insurance which is required and this space, South Hill Place provides this venue to us basically free of charge. It’s a wonderful space.”
Between putting up the sale, the sale itself, and taking down the sale the CUFW uses the space for three weeks.
“We have many volunteers that come out and seem to enjoy setting up, helping out, and culling and packing the books at the end,” she said. “It’s a huge job, this sorting. We have a streamlined process with the packing up and labelling now, but it’s still a very labour intensive process.”
Syverson said her favourite part of the entire process was setting up the sale before it begins.
“I like this part of it with the hustle and bustle and seeing things develop into an organized logical scene,” she explained.
The set up involves sorting through hundreds of boxes of books as they are delivered by SHARE, sorting and filing the books and also creating an aesthetically pleasing place to buy books.
“It is a bit of a circus people coming in and trying to find the right spot for the books. That’s a good part of it. I like, as well, just the teamwork,” she said.
Sale hours have been expanded again this year. The sale is open Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s closed on Sunday, then opens again from Monday, April 29 through to Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We’ve adjusted so that it’s 10 to 5 every day,” Syverson said.
Severson said that the adjusted times make it easier for people to remember.
The sale is cash only and you pay what you think is reasonable. However, there is one special historical cookbook that is at the front table that is valued at $20. People are also encouraged to bring reusable bags to carry home their finds.
Gustafson said residents often ask about donations.
“I always say the best time to donate is during the sale,” she said. “If anybody’s got a box of books they want to get rid of (or) they want put to good use, just bring it in here during the sale and then we can sort it out into the categories versus receiving them at any other time of the year when they just go into storage and have to be sorted later.”
