Sean C. Morgan
The Friends of the Library Book Store has moved to the corner of Long and 12th, inside the old Curves building, 1200 12th St.
The Friends planned to open the bookstore on Tuesday, Jan. 22, with a grand opening set for the 10th anniversary on Feb. 9.
The old store, at 1242 Main St., closed on Dec. 29.
“We ran out of space,” said Teresa Riper, who led the move. “More people are donating their books. People have become more aware of (the store).”
The Friends were stacking up boxes in the back of the old store, she said.
The store has been busy, grossing more than $13,000 last year, Riper said. “That’s a lot of 25-cent books.
“Our rent has gone up, obviously, but the building is over twice the size we had.”
THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY’S new store provides twice the space that its former location on Main Street did. Volunteers have been busy stocking shelves here in the main room and in several smaller rooms.
The new location has multiple rooms available for different sections, including a meeting room, a non-fiction room with “how-to” materials, a lobby with a working puzzle and chairs and “Gus’s Room,” which features biographies and social science.
All told, the Friends have given the Sweet Home Public Library more than $50,000 over the past decade, said Diane Gerson, who is one of three who helped start the store.
“It’s overwhelming,” Gerson said. “To me, it’s overwhelming. People just continue to support us with donations.”
The Friends opened the store in when the library closed temporarily after voter turnout requirements caused the failure of the library’s local option levy, Gerson said.
“Initially, we wanted to fill a niche. Well, we filled that niche.”
Since filling in for the library while it was closed, the store has moved along with the goal of getting books into the hands of anyone who wants them, Gerson said. In addition to selling paperbacks for a quarter and hardcovers for a buck, the store also provides books to different organizations, such as Sweet Home Emergency Ministries and the high school.
“We call it a sharing system,” Gerson said. People frequently return the books they’ve read and purchase more.
“What encourages me is people keep coming back,” Gerson said. The store even draws regulars from Eugene, Corvallis and Albany.
The money is used for many purposes at the Public Library. The Friends have purchased books and furniture and have funded a variety of special projects.
The bookstore will continue to charge just a quarter, Green said.
The group has discussed raising prices in the past, but it has chosen to keep the price at a quarter.
“Anybody can turn in five cans and buy a book,” Gerson said.
Like the library, the store has grown beyond books and also sells puzzles, games, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs and cassette tapes.
The move started out with a small committee planning and arranging the new store, Riper said. From there, the Friends received tremendous support from volunteers, including non-members, moving boxes.
“It’s amazing,” Riper said. “We’ve had so many people stop here and take ownership of it. Things aren’t perfect. We’re going to switch stuff around, but for now, this is the way it is.”
“Teresa has been the moving force behind this move, and she really deserves the credit,” said Gus Gerson, Diane Gerson’s husband.
“Without everybody else, this wouldn’t have been successful,” Riper said. “It’s actually ahead of scheduled because we had so many people available to get it done.”