Enjoying a well-earned cuppa, Mark Willyams said book collections had officially begun around Labour Weekend along with sorting the donations, including those in storage from last year.
After the long, steady weeks of work the four days of the sale flew past, he said.
"It’s a bit of a marathon but the sale is short and sharp, more of a sprint."
All the Rotarians did their bit for the sale and it all went smoothly.
Forklifts, trailers and road management had to be organised for moving the huge wooden crates of books from the sorting shed to the Memorial Hall, in Skird St.
More than $25,000 was raised from the sale, which would all go into the community via donations.
The club was committed to donating to the Otago Rescue Helicopter, the Hato Hone St John health shuttle bus and this year the Alexandra fire brigade’s Alpine Fault magnitude 8 project, which would prepare people for the expected Alpine Fault earthquake.
Extra help was called in for the heavy lifting this year with members of the Dunstan High School rowing team flexing their muscles and helping move the books into the hall.
The $500 donation the team received would go towards their travel fund, Mr Willyams said.
Alexandra Rotary was grateful to Skevington Contracting which offered them space to sort the books after their usual spot was unavailable.
"We had a very stressful start to the sale this year and they made the difference."
Their workshop was closer to the Rotary’s book storage unit so in the end it was a much smoother process.
As always the book sales on the first day — $16,000 this year — were equal to or more than half the total taken.
With the next sale slightly less than a year away, Mr Willyams had already completed the first task for it.
When he returned the hall keys to the Central Otago District Council office he booked the hall for next year.
