Beautiful weather for this October sale.
Following on years of tradition, the Foundation’s Fall Whale of a Used Book Sale was held on the third weekend of October 2016 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
As you can guess from the name, it was another enormous sale! Not only did it raise $61,000 for JCPL programs, but this year we broke from our usual tradition in a very different way.
Over the past few years, the rise of online book-buying and the decline of books in print have changed the book industry. And though there will always be loyal book lovers, our Foundation discovered that we just couldn’t sell as many books at the sales as we used to. So . . . we decided to focus on bringing fewer – but better – books to the sale. This meant that boxes of books piled under the table (usually two high) were absent in most sections.
Lower volume made for easier browsing, less clutter, and less hefting and hauling for volunteers, but it did not mean lower sales.
In fact, sales on the Friends’ Preview Night (Oct. 20) were more than $4,000 higher than in spring, and $5,000 higher than the previous Fall Whale Sale. Sales were perfectly on pace with the Spring Whale of a Used Book Sale, as a whole, and we attribute this to bringing in better books with good sales records.
While we’re excited about the results, we know that some patrons were unfortunately disappointed. Inventory went quickly, and customers who were accustomed to getting great deals on a bag of books on Sunday (the final sale day), didn’t find as many books left over to choose from.
As we strive to improve our Whale Sales, the Foundation will continue to bring out the best
books at bargain prices, and we’ll also work, as always, towards hosting even better Whale Sales for our Jefferson County book lovers.
The 2017 Spring Whale of a Used Book Sale will be held the first weekend in June.
LET’S GIVE A WHALE OF A THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS!
Our 2016 Fall Whale of a Used Book Sale made a big splash, thanks to these supporting businesses:
Westerra Credit Union
The Book Stop
Bean Fosters
City of Lakewood
Media Sponsors
93.7 The Rock radio
Colorado Community Media
In-Kind Donors
Chick-fil-A
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Golden Real Estate
