Hello Book Thing friends,

You adopted 6,990 books and 265 “non-books” (magazines, media, etc.) at our March event.  The weather was gorgeous and the line was loooong… thank you to all the patient patrons, and to everyone who volunteered!

Upcoming events

Pandemic and weather permitting, we continue our winter/spring series of public openings on the second full weekend of each month. As usual, we’re alternating between Saturday and Sunday. No book donations will be accepted at any of these upcoming events.

  • Sat April 10, 9a-2p – details below
  • Sun May 9 (Mother’s Day) – details TBD
  • June and beyond – yes, but dates TBD

If you need a large number of books and you’re not picky about exactly which ones, please reach out several days ahead of time via the Contact form on our website to see if we can help you out with a “bulk” donation.

Outdoor book giveaway: Saturday, April 10, 9am-2pm

The April book giveaway will once again be in the back parking lot by the mural. (We will reassess the possibility of indoor options throughout the spring.) Social distancing rules will be in place. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Masks are required, even if you’re vaccinated.
  • The event is weather permitting. We will cancel for rain, snow, or freezing temperatures. We will also cancel if there is any leftover snow, ice, or moisture on the ground in the back parking lot.
  • Book donations will not be accepted; please don’t bring us any books, magazines, or media on 4/10!
  • A parent may be accompanied by one (and only one) child, and every child must be accompanied by one adult.
  • All patrons must be through the line and signed out by 2pm. Judging from past experience, “last admittance” to enter the line may be around 1:15pm… because we want everyone who waits in the line to have a chance to browse.
  • Books will be arranged in boxes spaced out on the ground in the rear parking lot by the mural. You will need to stoop and lift the books you want. A socially distanced line of patrons will advance through the array of boxes, giving everyone the opportunity to select books.
  • You will find three boxes of books per station. The mix will be approximately 25% kids’ books, 30% paperback fiction, and 45% unsorted books from other categories. Volunteers will refresh the books throughout the event. A limited number of magazines, CDs, cassettes, and vinyl records will also be available.
  • Please don’t cross the chalk lines into the volunteer areas, and please don’t skip around the person in front of you without permission from Book Thing volunteers. Some patrons need longer to browse than others and we don’t want to rush anyone, but we also work to keep the line moving.
  • Take as many books as you can, and distribute them to your family, friends, and community!
  • The building will be closed to the public. There is no outdoor restroom. Please plan accordingly.
  • Please dress for the weather. There will be no place to sit, though you may bring your own stool or seated walker and move it with you as the line advances.
  • We will have boxes available to hold the books you adopt.
  • Try not to come as a group. If possible, send only one person from your household. We prefer to have just one person browsing at each station, but we can allow pairs of “quarantine buddies” (just not larger groups).
  • You will need to count your items and sign out when you exit.
  • Please get in line more than once and adopt lots of books!

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. We know you want to come inside.  We desperately want to let you inside, and we know you would adopt many more books that way, which would make us very, very happy. But our ventilation is poor and our shelves are very close together, so even if you might feel safe ducking in for 30 or 45 minutes in a limited entry format with all the usual precautions, our volunteers would be at a much higher risk staying all day to staff the event and restock the shelves. We won’t ask that of them.

If you are interested in volunteering on April 10th, you may fill out the Contact form.  We anticipate staffing this book giveaway primarily with experienced volunteers, but we will get in touch if we need extra hands.