The lineup of book lovers stretched along the railroad tracks from Huron to Duke Street Friday afternoon during the early bird opening of the 11th Annual Giant Book Sale.
People began assembling hours before the doors opened at 1 p.m. to get first choice of more than 100,000 titles available.
“We have been here since 10 am,” said Jennifer Kok clutching a list in her hand. “We are looking for mainly kids’ books. I am an after-school teacher and I am also looking for books for my son. He is really into Harry Potter right now.”
Kok was there with two fellow teachers and her husband Alex.
“A lot of people go right for the kids books so, they tend to go really fast,” said Alex. “So, it’s worth it to pay the $10 to begin with and then to get right at the front. We donate a lot of books to this too every year.”
Admission for the early bird sale that ran from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday was $10. Admission for the rest of the three-day sale is free. The hours are 6–9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday.
Volunteers from the Friends of the Guelph Public Library organize the sale and the proceeds go to a variety of GPL programs and initiatives.
The Giant Book Sale has become a popular event for casual readers and book collectors.
“I am looking for certain popular authors that are hard to find like Kurt Vonnegut,” said Gary Kirk, owner of A Good Read bookstore in Toronto. “They have these sales in all cities and this is the season. They start in the middle of September and this is the last one I will be going to.”
There are more than books for sale.
“I just moved here from Cambridge and this is my first time at the sale,” said Max Rousseau as he waited patiently near the end of the line. “I am hoping to find some good CDs or DVDs or some rare video cassette tapes. I would be very lucky to find them.”
Jim Sullivan goes to the sale for two reasons.
“I am a book collector and a big supporter of the Guelph Public Library,” said Sullivan. “I have more than 10,000 books in my collection. The library is more than books.”
That is a fact echoed by Darryl Bianco, a clerk at the West End Branch of the GPL.
“One of the missions of the library is to foster a love of reading but we have more than books,” said Bianco. "We have multi-media materials available. We run programs constantly at all of our branches for children all the way up to seniors. We just want to make sure that people know these services are available and we really want to integrate ourselves into people’s lives in the city.”
The location of the Giant Book Sale is 69 Huron St in the Ward. For more information check the Friends of Guelph Public Library website
