By Ethan Benedicto
The monthly book sale for Berwick Library is fast approaching, with Friday 7 June marking as not just a way to maintain upkeep but also foster community togetherness and opportunities for visitors to broaden their personal collections.
What could easily be considered part of Berwick’s historical fabric, the library, officially known as the Berwick Mechanic’s Institute and Free Library was first erected in 1866.
A team of volunteers runs the library itself, and Judith Dwyer with roughly 20 years under her belt said that the book sale is like stepping into the past and giving others the same chance.
“I think the fact that people, you know, [with] what they’ve collected over the years, you really don’t want to just throw them out, and it’s nice to find someone else that can borrow them,” she said.
According to Ms Dwyer, the book sales themselves have gone through some changes in the last few years, where pandemic lockdowns and the temporary closure of op shops such as Salvos and Vinnie’s saw locals donating to the library instead.
“They’ve kept donating them, and we get so many and people are very generous [but] we can’t put them all in our collection so what we usually do is re-home them.
“A lot of them are collections from people that are downsizing, sometimes it’s people who’ve passed away or other people just decluttering,” she said.
Beginning on Friday and operating at regular hours, the sale runs until the end of Saturday, pauses on Sunday and finishes off on the afternoon of Monday 3 June.
All of the funds acquired from the sale go directly towards the library’s catalogue, and according to Ms Dwyer, “we’re always adding new books”.
“We’re buying all the time as well as getting the donations, and often we’re actually discarding books that have been read out here because we want to keep the book collection right up to date with the latest that everyone’s reading,” she said.
The library’s original activities in the 1800s included weekly events called Penny Readings, where people could share stories and readings for entertainment.
It also houses a local history collection with a focus on the City of Casey and Cardinia Shire, with books, maps photos and newspaper articles; as well as a heritage collection with hand-written minute books, catalogues, and membership records, with the earliest visitor book dated on 1890.
Prior to the sale, books that are to be sold are examined carefully to ensure that they are on par with the library’s standards, and those that aren’t sold throughout the weekend are put out at a “very bargain price” according to Ms Dwyer, and would eventually sell out within the next month or so.
For Ms Dwyer, keeping the local fever for books alive is a must, noting that “it’s quite a few people that obviously just come in for the book sale and collect up”.
“I know one lady that brought in books from her father’s collection and she said he’d be so pleased that it was going to come here, she said he really loved that the books were going to come here and find a new home,” she said.
