They will no longer be able to stalk the aisles of books at ungodly hours because the event has just been transformed into a two-day event — and it will not be at the theatre.
Instead, it will be held at the More FM Arena, in the Edgar Centre, during daylight hours, 12 hours each on December 3 and 4.
It is the first time in 40 years that the annual book sale will not be held in the Regent Theatre.
Organiser Alison Cunningham said the sale had continued to grow over the decades, and as a result, it had been split in two, the Anything But Books Sale being held at a different time.
"It’s expanded into the basement and into an off-site sorting space, and still the generosity of donations from the people of Otago has meant the sale has simply outgrown the theatre.
"It also means that for four weekends of the year, we can’t use the theatre as a performance space."
Mrs Cunningham said access to the theatre, the stage and under the stage was difficult for many.
"It made sense that we find somewhere that was practical, flat and easy to load stock into.
"And there’s much better car parking [at the Edgar Centre].
"It means people can fill up a box, they can pop it in their car, grab a cup of coffee and go back and do it all again.
"You could spend all day there," Mrs Cunningham said.
She said the extra space would also allow the book sale and the Anything But Books Sale to merge again.
"It gives us the opportunity to return to selling some of those out-of-date things that people have bemoaned that we don’t keep any more because we haven’t had the space.
"Now we can sell things like the nice books from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s which most people don’t read; but those who do, don’t have anywhere else to find them."
She said the relocation might be unpopular with some of the "traditionalists" in the city, but it would allow the theatre to raise a lot more money.
The sales are an important source of funds for its capital projects.
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Comments
Well, something that was magic and unique just died and became just another book sale. Sad.
"It also means that for four weekends of the year, we can’t use the theatre as a performance space." And that means what if you receive money from the book sales to keep the theatre running? How many years has the book sale been running and that only becomes an issue now.
About time.
The transition to a new venue should have been made years ago, the theatre as a venue for a book sale had become an untidy and ungainly mess.
It won't stop the brawling between rival second hand book sellers.
Messy and ungainly is the way of the Southern book covetor.
I can tell you as an avid book collector who has attended 2nd hand book fairs from Invercargill to Auckland and most major cities in between that messy and ungainly is a universal trait, not at all restricted to the southern book coveter.