The Friends of Lake Forest Library Cancels Annual Book Sale Due to COVID-19
For the first time in 45 years The Friends of Lake Forest Library is not able to host our Fall book sale due to health concerns resulting from the Covid 19 pandemic. Normally, at this time of year, we are busy packing up books, scheduling volunteers to work the sale, and finalizing all the details that running a sale of this magnitude involves. It's a time of year we all look forward to, and the energy and love for this event is tangible and very much missed this year. The board of directors of the Friends of Lake Forest Library miss interacting with each other on a regular basis at the Library, but what we miss most is interacting with our volunteers and patrons at an event that is near and dear to our hearts and to the heart of our community.
The Friends of Lake Forest Library was founded in 1976 by a small group of Lake Forest residents dedicated to supporting their local library. From our modest first sale in the Library lobby and courtyard on September 18, 1976, the Friends' Annual Book Sale has evolved into one of the largest used book sales in the Midwest offering over 150,000 high quality used and new books in over 100 different categories. The sale attracts hundreds of volunteers and thousands of customers every year, and involves thousands of hours of year-round work by a dedicated team of volunteers.
We couldn't do any of it without the generous support of our local communities. Every September, we start with empty book shelves which get filled many times over by the generous donors who drop off books at the Lake Forest library for the Friends' to sell at our annual Fall book sale and Spring children's book sale. These same donors then come and shop our sale to help support their beloved library. In the span of 5 days, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, we transform the Lake Forest Recreation Center Gym into a used book store. It's amazing to watch the magic happen year after year. That magic will be missed this year...we apologize to all of generous supporters for the cancellation of this year's sale and look forward to seeing you all at our sale in 2021.