Lions open book shop in Hastings
Bookworms will have a new spot to explore with the opening of a permanent Lions Club bookshop in Hastings. The charitable trust’s new secondhand store is at the Showgrounds Hawke’s Bay Tomoana.
Lions Club bookshop committee chairwoman Carol McMillan said with only 40 per cent of books sold at the trust’s renowned book sales, a permanent alternative seemed like a novel idea.
“We started to think about how else we can use the books left over and make more money from the books we already have,” she said.
“We usually use the showgrounds hall for our book sales, with the books usually covering about 600 tables. But we’ve had bins full of leftover books.”
McMillan said while many Lions Clubs nationwide have stopped their book sales in recent years, the idea of a permanent store in Hawke’s Bay was dreamed up after a similar venture in Masterton.
“A bookshop in Masterton opened within the last year at a showgrounds, but this is the first in Hawke’s Bay,” she said.
“Looking for a space was one of the most difficult things, as there are not many low-cost properties around. We want as much money to go back into the community as possible.”
McMillan said the team of eight volunteers from the five Lions Clubs in Hawke’s Bay have spent the past weeks tidying, painting and shelving books ready for the opening.
The Lions began their book sales in 1987, with the first one making $1200. Since then, between $30,000 and $40,000 is made each year, according to McMillan.
In 2020, the book sales in Hawke’s Bay made $39,000, with close to $750,000 raised in total so far in Hawke’s Bay in the trust’s 33-year history.
“The money goes directly back into the community,” McMillan said.
The new Lions book shop will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.