Up to 40 volunteers spend Sunday mornings at the book sale storage facility in Kaikorai Valley Rd year-round (apart from in the depths of winter), sorting and pricing more than 70 banana boxes full of books each week.
Book sale co-ordinator Kath Wallace said by the time the Regent Theatre 24 Hour Book Sale was held next week Friday and Saturday, 10am-10pm, at the More FM Arena, Edgar Centre, there would be about 2200 boxes of books ready to go.
"People think it all comes together in the last couple of weeks before the sale, but actually it is a long, labour-intensive process," Mrs Wallace said.
"How long it takes depends on the types of books donated and their condition.
"However, the volunteers all enjoy it — we are a friendly bunch," she said.
Books for the sale had been sorted into a broad range of categories, including history, cooking, gardening, biography, science, human behaviour, popular and literary fiction, romance, children’s books and much more.
It was tricky to estimate exactly how many books would be in the sale, but with between 50-70 in each box, the total could be over 100,000 she said.
The sale would also include jigsaw puzzles and games, art works and a sizable collection of bric-a-brac.
"Since we moved the sale to the Edgar Centre a few years ago, we have had a lot more room to include the bric-a-brac," Mrs Wallace said.
The More FM Arena had proved to be a popular venue for the book sale, as it was light, airy and all on one level, making it accessible to all. Readily available car parking and an on-site cafe were also popular.
Transporting the books and other items to the Edgar Centre and setting them up would take about a week and involved many volunteers, including the regular book sorters, Taskforce Green, Combined Cadet forces, Southern Colts rugby team and Rotarians.
