Hello Book Thing friends,

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to our June book giveaway! Patrons adopted 7,895 books and 85 “non-books.” We also accepted donations of books, magazines, and mixed media totalling more than 8,000 items. We were so happy to welcome people back inside the building to browse our stacks for the first time in more than a year!  But we missed the chance to chat with everyone the way we were able to at our outdoor giveaways in previous months.

Upcoming events

We will continue our series of public openings on the second full weekend of each month throughout the summer. As usual, we’re alternating between Saturday and Sunday. We will use a timed, limited-entry format to let patrons inside the building, explained below. We will also accept book donations in July. A quantity limit of 4 boxes will be in place. Keep reading…

  • Sun July 11 from 9a-2p/4p – book donations accepted until 2pm only, last entrance for browsing is at 4pm. Please see below for details.
  • Sat Aug 14 – no book donations, details TBD.

Indoor book giveaway: Sunday, July 11, 9am-4pm

We will allow patrons into the building to select their own books, using a timed, limited-entry format. All lines will form outdoors. Dress for the weather, bring an umbrella if it’s rainy, etc. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Masks are required, even if you are vaccinated.
  • 45 patrons will be permitted to enter on the hour each hour from 9am to 4pm. The first entrance will be at 9am, and the last entrance at 4pm. FYI, even with fewer people allowed inside at our June event, no one waited more than an hour except for the 10am entrance. Attendance was lowest in the afternoon.
  • Patrons will have 50 minutes to browse our stacks, select their books, and exit the building. The time limit will be strictly enforced.
  • Upon exiting, patrons will form an outdoor line to count their books and sign out. Yes, even if it’s raining.
  • Patrons are responsible for their own social distancing inside the building.
  • A parent may be accompanied by one (and only one) child, and every child must be accompanied by one adult.
  • If a patron exits early, a new patron who is waiting may enter on “stand by” and use the remainder of the 50 minute time slot. This new patron will not be permitted to stay beyond the end of the time slot, extend into the next time slot, or hold their original place in line for a later time slot. “Stand by” entry means you accept that you will have less than 50 minutes to browse.
  • The restroom will be available, but you will not be permitted to enter the building to use it except when it is your turn to be inside browsing for books.  Please plan accordingly.
  • Spare boxes will be available to hold your books.

Book donations (9a-2p)

We will open the book donation window on July 11 from 9am to 2pm only.  This is our second and final scheduled book donation day for summer 2021. To be honest, we don’t need book donations just now. We still have a huge backlog of boxed books in our off-site warehouse, and the pandemic has made it hard to get them sorted and given away. But we know many of you have been saving books for us to share with the rest of the community, and we’re grateful for that!

  • Book donation hours are 9am-2pm on 7/11. If we have to cancel the book giveaway for any reason, the book donation hours will also be cancelled.
  • The donation limit will be 4 boxes per family. Boxes must be small enough that one person can lift them when full.
  • We will accept all types of books (and magazines) except encyclopedia sets.
  • We will accept all types of mixed media except cassette tapes. Reminder: no home-made content, please.
  • All incoming book donations must be counted. This is a new policy for our nonprofit reinstatement. We are learning how to do this efficiently; thank you in advance for your understanding.
  • Please don’t bring us books that are moldy, sticky, stinky, or missing pages/covers.
  • Unfortunately, we can’t come pick up book donations, nor can we help you unload them from your vehicle.
  • If you have more than 4 boxes of books for children or young adults that you wish to donate, please Contact us separately.
  • We can only accept book donations as outlined above. If you leave books outside of donation hours, you may be cited by the City for illegal dumping.

If you are interested in volunteering on July 11th, you may fill out the Contact form.  We anticipate staffing this book giveaway with experienced volunteers, but we will get in touch if we need extra hands.