Friends of the Bixby Library 258 Main St. Vergennes, VT 05491 Bixby Memorial Library serves Addison, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Waltham and Vergennes. Vergennes owns the building (bought for $1.00) and provides for grounds maintenance. The library is supported by annual allotments from each town supplemented with any fund raising and grant receipts. The Friends have been in existence for about 20 years. The Friends have supported such projects and items as: - Enhanced patron access to e-books and audiobooks through One Click Digital - Electronic patron access for 64 magazines through Zinio Digital - Sponsorship of the Bixby Gala (fund raiser) - Promotion of early literacy by ongoing support of Addison County readers through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library - Youth Services librarian Literacy and STEM outreach to area daycares and preschools - History Room Curator Project - Museum Room inventory and cataloguing of Native American artifacts - Purchase toddler smocks for children’s programs - Purchase of furniture for the newly opened West porch - Vergennes Arts Walk artists’ exhibits in the Otter Creek Room - Purchase of nine folding tables - Installation of picture rails in the Otter Creek Room - Purchase of Youth Room Cube Chairs - Ferrisburgh Central School summer reading initiative by a donation of books from the used book sale - Purchase of an additional “librarian’s” cart for the main floor - Expand Library offerings by upgrading a previously unusable space - Purchase carpeting and bookcases for the multi-purpose Otter Creek Room - Replace the obsolete security alarm system in order to ensure protection of our historical assets - Purchase additional computers and software for public use - Allow electronic inventory of History Room holdings by professional archivists - Purchase a large movie projector screen for collaborative children’s programs with Vermont Public TV - Replace unsuitable shrubs and plants with native pollinator-specific shrubs and plants on library grounds In 2017, we gave $5400. to the library in support of these or similar programs. Sources of Income: A. Used Book Sale April-Oct. B. Annual Plant Sale in early June C. Silent Auction of Gift Baskets 1 st Sat. of Dec.
A. Used Book Sale This space is physically separate from the Main Floor of the library. One must exit the building and walk around the back of the library. Pricing: $2/hardcover – 50 cents paperback, all children’s books are 25 cents Open Saturdays, 10 AM – 1:30 PM Occasional Friday late afternoon if special event in Vergennes. 2017, the first year we’ve been open only Saturdays. Book cart near front entrance of Main Floor with books for sale and a donation box. We began this in 2017 and average $75.00/mo. Promoting the book sale: • Signage on the Main Floor indicating location of the sale • Local newspapers—regular calendar of events. o More apt to print article if accompanied by a photo • Signs at tourist stops—city dock, bank lobby • Free book coupons passed out to local schools and to new library patrons • Free book coupons passed out during Memorial Day Parade • Yard signs for special book sales • Front Porch Forum for request donations and announce sales Amazon . Books that appear to have exceptional value are held for 2 volunteers that research and list used books on a private account. For 2016, we made $120.00. Library Consignment.com Texas-based company with warehouse in Houston. Inventory is currently well over 300,000 books. Sell on 10 different online marketplaces. Programmers have developed proprietary programs that work together to identify, list, price, manage the book inventory and customer order database. Once you are registered, the website and software system work together to allow you to quickly find which books are suitable for online sales by entering the ISBN. The software allows you to scan as many as 30 books per minute and will provide you with an instant visual cue on the Web Interface letting you see whether or not each book is suitable for online sales. Once the software has identified these books in your inventory, you simply set them aside to ship to us. We will cover the cost of postage. You provide a computer and scanner or you can manually enter the IBSN. Packaging material. (Keep the boxes small for easy lifting, minimum 10 books at a time, no alcohol or liquor boxes are accepted by the USPS) On the last Friday of each month, if any books have sold to date, you will be sent a check. To cover the fees charged by the marketplace (e.g. Amazon), LC subtracts 15% from the base price (excluding shipping) of each sale plus another $1.05 -- and then you get half of what remains. The books can take anywhere from one day to several months to sell. Once they sell, the check will be sent for the revenue-share amount. LC also provides
data complete with which books sold and how much they sold for at the end of each month. Be patient, it was several months before Friends of the Bixby received their first check. For 8 months, we averaged $1.77 per book. Managing donations : When accepting donations, we decline encyclopedias, textbooks, Readers Digest Condensed books, magazines, Fiction older than 2006, musty, mildew. Historically, we have used only 1/3 of donations received, thus are now encouraging donors to screen for the 2006 date. Special Sales & Promotions Piggyback on special events in Vergennes—City-wide yard sale, Vergennes Day Buy one, Get one By donation—take what you want, leave ($) what you believe it is worth By the bag (large paper grocery) B. Annual Plant Sale Sat. in late May or early June, 9 AM – 1 PM Front Porch Forum appeal in March to people planting seed starts to add something for our plant sale. April/May solicit previous donors, local greenhouses. Bagged mulch from Aubuchons or Agway (we pay half, they donate the other half) Popular items: Fresh asparagus, locally sourced eggs, fresh rhubarb, local horseradish Some luck selling mulch hay or baled straw. C. Silent Auction of Gift Baskets (Vergennes Holiday Stroll) Silent Auction of gift baskets on 1 st Sat. of Dec. Baskets are assembled and put on display the 2 nd Sunday of Nov. 2016 income=$3091.00 Solicit early. Online search for local “unknown” businesses and nationally recognized businesses in VT. Think outside the box: Wood pellets can be used as cat litter. Brueggers donated “coffee & donuts for the office” certificate. Wine is a popular item. Businesses are unable to donate that product. Locally, we buy the wine and the business owner donates $$ of equal value to our cause. Business without a desirable product may be agreeable to purchase an item for auction. Vermont Gas donated blankets from Vermont Flannel. A local meat processing business gives $$. Dock Doctors gave money to purchase a Lake Champlain related book. Vintage items—locally themed collectible spoons, Lenox vase, collection of vintage postcards (advertise these unique items well) Popular items: Pet related, Gift certificates, locally sourced, Unique Seek donations of baskets throughout the year, check yard sales. Large baskets with “overhead” handles allow better visibility with shrink wrap.
Basket assembly on a Sunday. The library is closed and there is plenty of room to do the work and set up the displays. Our demographics are lower and middle class. If an item is valued too high, we get no bids. Full sized quilts, large custom-made mirrors, hand knit sweaters have performed poorly. Bid sheets are set up with 1) Description of item and name of donor 2) stated value, 3) beginning bid is ½ the total value, 4) suggested minimum bid amount (based on total value) Example BID Increments 2015 Value Minimum Bid Bid Increment $10 or less Half of value $1 $20 or less Half of value $2 25 12 2 30 15 5 35 15 5 40 20 5 45 20 5 50 25 5 Two shifts.10 AM-2 PM, 2 PM-6PM. Lunch provided. BYOB. As we have aged, the split shift works better! Final Day of Silent Auction Since the library closes at the end of the auction, many do not wait for their items or to see if they are the winning bid. We methodically shelve remaining items with a system that volunteers at the Circulation Desk can manage as patrons collect their items during the week. RESOURCES Volunteers Some do only one project a year with us. Be sure to keep asking. Days of Caring in Sept. Community volunteers are matched with nonprofits.
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