Photos and Story by Preston Siroka

The Westport Book Sale was welcomed this weekend by a flood of both bibliophiles and rain, making it a great way for locals to spend the days inside to support a good local cause.

After 14 months of pandemic closures, an increase of people reading at home, and the donation of thousands of books - 60 library volunteers managed the indoor fundraising event while assuring safety amidst a pandemic.

In this era of working and learning from home - books have been in the laps of many Westporters. According to staff members, the most donated reading categories in the past year were fiction and history books, however due to the heavy influx in donations, the library couldn't accept all books gifted. And due to the pandemic, strict rules and regulations about quarantining the books had to be put into place for all the books that were accepted. The pandemic and new regulations didn't stop The Westport Library from welcoming the community into the Library to enjoy their famous opportunity to snag a deal on off-market classics, gently-used new novels, or sought-after collectibles.  Book sales didn’t end in 2020, but included more online offerings, as well as ticketed events to assure accurate social distancing. 

As the library celebrates the success of the Memorial Day weekend event, Westport Book Sale Ventures Board Member Linda Hopper described the future - saying that “The Staples Cafeteria is the target location for future sales” as bigger and more available indoor options may be needed.

Giving Others A Chance 

The Westport Library and Westport Book Sales Ventures’ mission is to provide funding for the Westport Library in conjunction with an opportunity to help adults with disabilities become employed and successful, with profits from the book sale directly helping those missions. “The jobs we provide are to help give them the skills to work a full-time job perhaps in the future.” Hopper said. As a way to continue their work in-between book sales, the group recently opened the Westport Book Shop - where employees of all abilities sell books, DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, and collectibles from the 23 Jesup Road storefront year-round.