Fort St. John annual winter book sale raises $1,150 in 2025

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Public Library received $1,150 in donations after a successful book sale hosted by a local nonprofit organization. 

The Friends of the Fort St. John Public Library hosted its winter book sale on December 6th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the concourse of the North Peace Cultural Centre. 

Angie von de Wall, treasurer and secretary for the group, told Energeticcity.ca: “We hold a winter book sale every year, usually the first Saturday in December and in May.

“We pull all the books out that have been donated, put it on tables at the concourse, people come to peruse the books and we make money that we give to the library for events, programming and supplies.” 

All the funds raised by the non-profit go toward the public library. 

“We are looking at buying e-books,” Wall said. “There’s a world languages book section that we’re helping to expand.

“In the past, we’ve updated the children’s library section, purchased chairs and anything that supports patrons’ use of the library.” 

Wall shared the turnout for the book sale was steady throughout the event, with people lining up as early as 9.20 a.m.

Wall shared: “We sell the books for $1 each. But we also do [a] $15 bag. If people bring a bag and they fill the bag up, we just charge them a flat rate of $15. 

“I would say a rough estimate would be, we sold around 1,000 books.” 

The non-profit gets all of its donations from patrons and people who are moving or downsizing. 

“[The book sale is] quite popular,” she said. “We were getting emails and the library staff was letting us know that people were coming in through November, waiting for this big book sale.” 

She shared: “The books are quite high quality. We don’t sell things that are ratty or old or dirty. 

“[In] some of these books, the spines haven’t even been cracked. They’re basically brand new.” 

The Friends of the Fort St. John Public Library has also been nominated for the 100 Women Who Care event, which is happening in March in Fort St. John. 

“We’re quite excited about the nomination and we’re currently planning to come up with something amazing so that we can win this prize money,” Wall said, adding the library would benefit from the funds. 

The Friends of the Fort St. John Public Library is a registered society in B.C. and a registered charity in Canada that brings together volunteers to raise funds for the library. It has its own board, constitution and by-laws. 

To donate to the Fort St. John Public Library, check out the Friends of the Fort St. John Public Library page.