Conditions were ideal for FOLSOI’s latest Book Sale at Southport Realty on Saturday, April 10, as a rainy morning gave way to sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. The line formed early for patrons eager to resume this pandemic-limited event. In addition to folks ready to replenish their bookshelves, nearly half of those stopping by also dropped off books to replenish the FOLSOI used book shelves.

Everyone wore their masks, used hand sanitizer, and maintained social distancing with indoor browsing and shopping limited to 20 people. Waiting outdoors was no hardship at all on such a beautiful day.

FOLSOI’s Past President Diana Fotinatos (pictured here with Past President Jane Warren) staked out the ideal location to sell our latest offering: vinyl records. With three large boxes of LPs donated to FOLSOI, and sales were brisk. Local turntables will be spinning with country and western and pop hits from decades past salvaged from the landfill and given a well-deserved new life.

Books of all genres, jigsaw puzzles, CDs, DVDs continue to benefit from FOLSOI’s book sale recycling and reuse, proving that our fundraising initiates are sustainable in every sense of the word. Every purchase helps fund the programs that so many of you have come to enjoy, whether “live” or on Zoom.

We are eternally grateful to the fine folks at Southport Realty who provide the space for our FOLSOI volunteers to take in, sort, price, shelve, and sell our books. When pandemic conditions permit, we look forward to reopening this “used book store” to the public between book sales. In the interim, we’ll see you again at Southport Realty, 727 N. Howe Street on Saturday, April 24, from 1:30 to 4:00 pm.