Hello Book Thing friends,

Thank you to everyone who attended or volunteered at our September opening! The weather was gorgeous.  We recorded 628 entrances and 600 sign-outs totaling 13,139 books and 914 non-books.  We also accepted donations of 5,433 books and 1,318 non-books.

Upcoming events

We will continue our series of book giveaways falling on the second full weekend of the month through the end of the year, pandemic and weather permitting. Our events always alternate between Saturday and Sunday.

  • Sun, Oct 9 – 9a-2p/5p – limited book donations accepted until 2pm only, last entrance for browsing is at 4pm, building closes at 5pm. Please see below for details.
  • Sat, Nov 12 – details TBD
  • Sun, Dec 11 – details TBD

We’re happy to share that our children’s/YA section is restocked again this month thanks in part to a generous donation of books from Discover Books.

Indoor book giveaway: Sunday, Oct 9, 9am-5pm

We will allow patrons into the building to select their own books on Oct 9th, using a timed-entry format. As usual, all lines will form outdoors. Dress for the weather, bring an umbrella if it’s rainy, etc. Here’s what else you need to know:

  • Please remember that masks are still required at The Book Thing for all patrons. (If you have spare masks you want to donate to us, that would be amazing!)
  • 80 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. All patrons must exit before 5pm.
  • The line is always longest for the morning entrances.
  • Patrons will have 55 minutes to browse our stacks, select their books, and exit the building. The time limit will be strictly enforced. You may get back in line.
  • Upon exiting, patrons will form an outdoor line to count their books and sign out (even if it’s raining).
  • If a patron exits early, a new patron who is waiting may enter “on standby” and use the remainder of the 55 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. Standby entry means you accept that you will have less than 55 minutes to browse.
  • Please don’t be deterred by our timed-entry format. It helps keep the line moving so that you get a chance to browse sooner, and it lets us serve more patrons.
  • Patrons are responsible for their own social distancing inside the building.
  • One parent may be accompanied by a maximum of two children, and every child must be accompanied by an adult. Please make sure your child wears a mask.
  • Patrons will enter through the red room door and exit through the blue room door.
  • The restroom will be available, but you will not be permitted to enter the building to use it except when it’s your turn to be inside browsing for books. Please plan accordingly.
  • We have lots and lots of spare boxes available to hold your books!

Book donations: 9a-2p

We will open the book donation window on October 9 from 9am to 2pm only.  We know many of you have been saving books for us to share with the rest of the community, and we’re grateful for these donations! These days, we particularly welcome donations of popular fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, classics, non-diet cookbooks, English dictionaries, and Bibles. We’re finding it hard to keep these shelves full from our warehouse stock alone.

  • Book donation hours are 9am-2pm on 10/9. If we have to cancel the book giveaway for any reason, the book donation hours will also be canceled.
  • The donation limit has been increased to 6 boxes per family. Boxes must be small enough that one person can lift them when full.
  • We accept all types of books except encyclopedia sets.
  • We accept all types of popular and hobby magazines, but we can’t accept sets of academic/technical/professional journals.
  • We accept all types of mixed media except audio cassette tapes. Reminder: no home-made content, please.
  • Please don’t bring us books that are moldy, sticky, stinky, or missing pages/covers.
  • All incoming book donations must be counted. This is a relatively new policy, and we are still learning how to do this efficiently; thank you in advance for your understanding.
  • Unfortunately, we can’t come pick up book donations, nor can we help you unload them from your vehicle.
  • If you have more than 6 boxes of books that you wish to donate, please bring 6 boxes on 10/9 and then Contact us separately about the rest.
  • 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.

Finally, if you are interested in volunteering with us, please fill out the Contact form.  We are excited to be moving forward on small-group trainings for new volunteers.