If you’ve never heard of FOBILS (Friends of the Bowen Island Library Society) don’t beat yourself up, they are one of those highly productive and committed volunteer groups that has been running forever but not making a big deal about it.
They are the people responsible for the mini bookstore at the entrance to the library, and also the three-day book sale that is run out of the BICS gym each spring.
This year, thanks to the donation of a small building by an anonymous donor, the group is enjoying a much more straightforward book-sorting process than it has in years past.
“For years we did our sorting in the #12 heritage cottage,” says longtime FOBIL Anna-Marie Atherton. “That had so many leaks, and it wasn’t really an ideal place to sort books. Last year, the Heritage Society offered up their office to us, but we ran out of space and had to set up a secondary book sorting location at the firehall. Glenn (Cormier) then offered to let use the pub’s storage space so there was a lot of going back and forth. We put a call out to people who might have some space for us to set up, and we looked at a few spots, but then we got this call from a library patron who said he would build us something.”
The patron, who would like to remain anonymous, created a roughly 600-square-foot space complete with a bathroom and stained glass window.
“He declined our offer to pay rent, so we are just paying for hydro,” says Atherton. “It is so wonderful to be sorting and storing all in one spot, sometimes we think we’ve died and gone to heaven.”
Atherton adds that by paying rent the group’s expenses have dropped significantly.
“I think we’re down to $1,500 for the whole year,” she says.
In January, FOBILS made a $20,000 donation to the Cove Commons Project. They also earmark up to $5,000 annually for library programming, including the summer reading club for kids and events such as author readings.
Atherton says the book sale typically earns between $4,000 and $5,000 each year.
The group is made up of a core of 12 dedicated volunteers, but more are always needed for the book sale, which takes place on the May long weekend. Anyone who wants to offer to help can contact Illy Allen at [email protected].
