Lewes library shop open with discounts to run through July 31
Just Between Friends, the gift shop run by the Friends of the Lewes Public Library, has reopened and will celebrate by offering 10 percent off all purchases during July.
The shop is located near the checkout desk at the library. When it was closed March 14, 2020, due to the pandemic, Friends board members thought it would be temporary, but as it turned out, this vital source of library funding has been shuttered for more than a year.
The Friends also stopped taking book donations last March. Used book sales are another important source of funding, but the library shutdown meant no volunteers to manage the books already filling the storage room to near capacity. To prepare for reopening, former volunteers needed refresher training on cash register and credit card machines. New volunteers were required and had to be trained; and donated books on hand needed to be sorted and priced before the public could resume donating gently used books to the library. Donations are limited to 10 books per person.
Friends of the Lewes Public Library President Candace Vessella likes to say, “It is always more complicated than you think!”
The Lewes Public Library is an independent library within the Delaware system and must raise half of its annual operating budget. The Friends group is an integral part of the fundraising team, and the shop and book sales are critical to that fundraising effort. Excitement is building to be back in the business of selling new children’s books, gently used books, movies and gift items in the Just Between Friends shop, with 10 percent off all purchases through Saturday, July 31. Later this fall, there will be several small book sales offering rare and collectible books, history, biography and children’s books.
The Friends of the Lewes Public Library needs additional volunteers to work in the shop as cashiers and as book sorters. Volunteers must commit two hours of their time on a weekly basis. All Friends volunteers are required to have received a COVID-19 vaccination and attend a one-hour training session. To learn more, email FLPL19958@gmail.com.
