Rockcliffe Spring Book Sale returns to pre-pandemic form

It’s official–the Rockcliffe Park Spring Book Sale is back!

After a four-year hiatus, the Rockcliffe Spring Book Sale returns at last to the Rockcliffe Park Community Centre at the end of April. With only weeks to go, a team of dedicated volunteers are busy culling and sorting your donations as they come into the library.

Cornerstone community event

Prior to its last-minute cancellation in March 2020, the sale had blossomed over the previous 25 years into a cornerstone community event bringing together residents, volunteers and local businesses.

The size of the sale (and the revenues generated) increased year after year. After a four-year pause, we are not trying to break any previous records, so do not anticipate that this year’s sale will be exactly like the enormous events of the past. But we remain confident that we will be able to achieve the same energy, enthusiasm and strong sense of community of previous years. Moreover, our focus on quality, which established the spring book sale as one of the premier used book sales in the city, has not changed.

And we will still need that large tent to display all the wonderful treasures on offer.

Books (still) wanted

We have already received a rich assortment of fiction and non-fiction books, but we still need more! If some early spring cleaning, or de-cluttering of your bookshelves would help beat the winter blahs, now is the perfect time to donate your gently used books (English and French).

Proceeds from the sale go to support the public library through programming at the Rockcliffe Park branch and the purchase of new materials.

So don’t delay, bring your donations to the Rockcliffe Park Branch of the Ottawa Public Library during opening hours.

If you have a sizeable donation (more than a couple of bags or boxes) contact Jane Newcombe at 613-859-8506, email: janenewcombe08@gmail.com to arrange a pick-up. We will be collecting books until Easter (the end of March), but the sooner you bring them in the better.

But, please, no encyclopedias, textbooks or magazines.

Thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of a great team of volunteers, many from Manor Park, and the support of this community we are looking forward enthusiastically to the re-launch of the Rockcliffe Park Spring Book Sale 2024!

The Rockcliffe Spring Book Sale returns from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday April 27 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday April 28 at the Rockcliffe Park Community Centre, 380 Springfield Rd.

So, save these dates, and see you at the book sale!

This article was written by Carolyn Brereton, a former editor of the Chronicle, who has taken over from Linda McDonald, co-chair of the Sale since 2018. She joins fellow co-chairs Jane Newcombe and Kevin Phillips.