After 5-year hiatus, Friends of the Greenfield Public Library reviving book sales

The new Greenfield Public Library on Main Street.

The new Greenfield Public Library on Main Street. STAFF FILE PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Cameron Faniel, left, and Tiffany Eggleston browse through the shelves during a Friends of the Greenfield Public Library book sale in 2019. Although book sales stopped when the city deemed the basement of the old library unsafe for all programming, with the new Greenfield Public Library now open, the sales are coming back.

Cameron Faniel, left, and Tiffany Eggleston browse through the shelves during a Friends of the Greenfield Public Library book sale in 2019. Although book sales stopped when the city deemed the basement of the old library unsafe for all programming, with the new Greenfield Public Library now open, the sales are coming back. STAFF FILE PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

By MARY BYRNE

Staff Writer

Published: 01-16-2024 11:08 AM

Modified: 01-22-2024 3:08 PM


GREENFIELD — After a five-year hiatus, the Greenfield Public Library will once again host book sales.

The first event, hosted by the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., according to Victoria Kelliher, a Friends of the Greenfield Public Library board of directors officer. Patrons are encouraged to donate books for the sale between Jan. 26 and Feb. 2.

“We’re looking for, and intending to sell, nice, high-quality books,” she said. “We’re looking for really good books that people will enjoy picking up and having in their home.”

Kelliher said book sales stopped about five years ago when the city deemed the basement of the old library unsafe for all programming. With the new Greenfield Public Library now open, the Friends group now has the setting to host book sales again.

“The reason we wanted to bring it back was because it helps to circulate more books through the community and make it affordable,” Kelliher explained. “We wanted to help promote getting books in the hands of children for free, or by donation. It’s really another way of bringing books out in the world and teaching literacy.”

For now, the book sale will be a one-off event, she said, though the goal is to eventually make it routine again. That will require settling on a place to store books.

“It was a very successful fundraiser back in the day,” Kelliher said.

Hardcover books will be sold for $2 each and paperbacks for 50 cents each. Children’s books will be free; donations will benefit the library’s children’s programming.

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For information about making book donations, email fgplbooksales@gmail.com or text 413-824-0468. Donations are by appointment only.

The following list of items will not be accepted: encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, media (such as CDs and DVDs), computer manuals, self-help books, books on health, travel books that are more than five years old and science books that are more than 20 years old. Donations will be limited to no more than two boxes per donor and no more than one box per subject.

This article has been updated to clarify the types of donations that will not be accepted. Donations are by appointment only.