Dozens came out for the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library’s annual Holiday Sale on Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8.

Held in the lower meeting room of C.H. Booth Library, the sale featured a wide selection of holiday and gift items for people to take home and make their holidays special. Many of the tables spread throughout the room were lined with books.

Each section carried a different genre, including but not limited to gardening, cooking, and biographical adult nonfiction books, as well as sci-fi, thriller, and romance novels.

Beyond books, the sale also offered other items, such as games, puzzles, glassware, antiques, stocking stuffers, Christmas ornaments, and much more. The Friends even had a collection of jewelry valued by Michael’s Jewelry Store for sale.

President of the Friends Nancy Dvorin said that the best of what they have collected over the past year “ends up at this sale.”

“We have books that are basically in mint condition,” Dvorin said. “If they’ve been read, the wear and tear doesn’t show.”

She added that Holiday Sale Chair Marge Gingolaski has a crew of volunteers that collects stuff all year-round. They carefully store everything away, and take on the monumental effort of pricing every item and setting up the sale.

The Friends had a lot of stock in reserve according to Dvorin, so if the tables got bare, volunteers would replenish them. By Saturday morning, volunteers were already pushing carts with books, ready to fill any empty gaps on display.

In the spirit of the season, every table was decked out with red, green, or white table cloths. A large Christmas tree wrapped in lights stood in the center of the room, and was decorated in various ornaments. At one corner of the room was another tree with a bunch of free candy canes for people to take.

This year’s event is a particularly special milestone for the Friends, as it marks their 20th annual Holiday Sale. Dvorin said that while the Friends’ July sale is the group’s “big money maker,” the Holiday Sale is another fundraising event where the proceeds benefit C.H. Booth Library.

“People like buying stuff from us because our money helps out the library. We like selling it to them because it’s a pleasure, especially when you have kids at a sale like this and you just see their eyes light up,” Dvorin said.

She continued by saying that the Friends have some of the most dedicated volunteers. They are all driven by their love for their library, know books very well, love working with the public, and especially love finding “just the right book for the right person.”

“The caliber of our volunteers is incredible, and that good spirit surrounds all the events we do,” Dvorin said. “And people are just as happy and excited to come to this sale and our summer sale.”

She added that the Friends is excited to hold more sales going forward, and to continue supporting C.H. Booth Library.

=====

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.