Over 23 years ago, Rotary Albert Park started collecting and selling pre-loved books. Their first weekend Book Fair was held at Albert Park Primary School and raised in excess of $20,000. Over the following years, book sales have raised in excess of $850,000 with the majority of funds raised returning to local organisations and those in need in the community.
Annual Book Fair at Albert Park College
As well as raising funds, 1,000s of books have been donated to many children’s charities such as Reading Out Of Poverty, Hope in a Suitcase which provides items for children entering foster care, large print books to Aged Care facilities, books to schools in Vanuatu, and to the Melbourne Central Free Library.3Read2Me - distributing books to younger readers in Australia and Overseas.
Albert Park College provides space in the college to store and sort books and for this receives a percentage of all sales for purchasing E Books and literacy programs at the school. Without the generosity of Principal, Steve Cook, and the provision of this space, we would not be able to manage the sheer volume of books that we receive. The College has also received books valued in excess of $250,000 for their own library, which was of particular benefit in the early days of establishing the new school campus and building its facilities. These books have labels inside the cover identifying Rotary Albert Park as the donor.
Sourcing the books is quite simple. People can drop off their pre-loved books at Albert Park and Port Melbourne Libraries. Volunteers collect and deliver the books to the college where they are sorted, priced and distributed and some then some are sold at marks and second hand book dealers, and online.
There have been some amazing values on some of the books when checked on sites such as ABEBooks, Addalof and EBay. Recent online sales examples have been a John Olsen book sold for $750, a book on weaving sold for $500.00 and many others selling from between $100.00 and $400.00. These sales along amounted to just under $2,500.00. There are currently in excess of 2,000 books listed on ABEBooks alone.
As part of this project, just over two years ago, in conjunction with Carlton and Fitzroy Rotary clubs, Rotary Albert Park opened a retail book shop in Wharf Street, Docklands. This is run in conjunction with the Carlton and Fitzroy Rotary Clubs. Since its opening, the shop has generated nearly $250,000 in sales and is now considered one of the best value second hand/pre-loved books shops in Melbourne.
With the right systems and volunteers, pre-loved books can be a valuable source of income for any Rotary Club. It is also an enjoyable way to raise funds with impact and meaning. Albert Park, PC we currently have 6 volunteers to collect books, one to sort and grade, one to check possible value, and two to collate and distribute. According to Ken Hall, “in all my 23 years of involvement I have never found book sorting boring. If anything, the chance of finding a book of real value is what gives me and the other volunteers a sense of fulfilment and immense satisfaction.” If a Rotary Club can access a shop space (for little or no rent) pre-loved book selling, handled correctly, can be a valuable and enjoyable source of income, with fellowship and community engagement thrown in. Feel free to contact Ken Hall for further information via email: ken.hall1942@gmail.com