Flick through spines for springtime sale

STAFF and volunteers at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute are welcoming the seasonal change next month with their upcoming spring book sale fundraiser.

Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October, BMI’s cultural development officer Mark Potter said there’ll be a range of paperbacks on offer.

“We’ve put a callout to our members asking for pre-loved books. Generally. they won’t be more than $20 but more around $5 and $10,” he said.

“There will be hundreds of books. It’s a good mixture of fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, biographies, even CDs and DVDs.”

The sale, held about once a season, raises between $2000 to $3000 each event.

Past events have contributed towards picture rails for the Hugh Williamson Foyer, which is currently exhibiting the BMI’s Max Harris collection as part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

Mr Potter said the book sale is a popular event at the BMI.

“It’s definitely a well-loved event so it’s a great opportunity to raise funds,” he said. “You get the feeling people are reading less books but that’s really not the case.

“We often put books that aren’t moving out to the front of the BMI for free and they go like hotcakes.

“Past sales have also allowed us to start doing a lot more author talks which our librarian Rosemary has really been able to get going this year which are generally held in our library.”

Both sale days will run from 9am to 2pm at the BMI’s library.