Family members (from left) Jeanine McDonald, of Invercargill, Natalie McMillan, of Christchurch and Glen Darragh, of Alexandra, checking out their haul from the annual Alexandra Rotary Book Sale. PHOTO: ODT FILES
Book sale convener Mark Willyams said book collections had officially begun around Labour Weekend along with sorting of 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 very smoothly, organising forklifts, trailers and road management for moving the huge wooden crates of books from the sorting shed to the Memorial Hall, in Skird St, Mr Willyams said.
More than $25,000 was raised from the sale. That 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 8 Fault project, which would prepare people for the expected Alpine Fault earthquake.
Extra help was called in for the heavy lifting this year, members of the Dunstan High School rowing team flexing their muscles and helping move the books into the hall.
The $500 donation they received would go towards their travel fund, Mr Willyams said.
Mr Willyams said Skevington Contracting had also stepped in to help, offering sale organisers 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.''
As always, sales on the first day, $16,000 this year, were equal to or more than half the total taken.
The next sale is slightly less than a year away, but Mr Willyams has 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 2026.
