The store assistant will work on the “front lines”—the” main store of the Friends Book Cellar. The volunteer will be responsible for cashiering, shelving books, pricing inventory, and dealing with customers. This is easily the most front-facing volunteering opportunity and is a great opportunity to interact with our large customer base, who represent a broad spectrum of readers and book lovers from all walks of life.

The sorting room assistant isn’t public-facing, but the position is just as important. Each week, the Friends Book Cellar receives donations of hundreds, if not thousands, of books, magazines, and media. The volunteer will be responsible for processing these donations into their proper sections for the store, evaluating their condition, and dealing with donations unfit for resale.

The Friends of the Lexington Public Library operates a robust and constantly growing online sales department. Here, our more valuable items receive broader exposure than they would in the store. Volunteers in this area will mainly be responsible for listing items determined to be valuable on our eBay store platform. Sometimes the volunteer will also assist our online sales department with the packaging and shipping of online orders.

Recently, our organization has been bringing inventory to various local breweries and community spaces, setting up smaller off-site sales for a given afternoon. We always need volunteers at these events as well, primarily to assist with setting up, cashiering, and helping customers.

Every year, we host two large book sales—in April and October—and volunteers are in great demand at these events as well. The book sale volunteer will be responsible for setting up the displays, helping customers, and breaking down the setup following the end of the sale. This is another great opportunity to meet and interact with our customers and other volunteers.

You can come in as much as you like! A great thing about volunteering with us is the ability to set your own schedule.

Not at all! All we ask is that you bring a willingness to learn, a positive attitude, and a passion for books.

Yes! Over the years, we’ve had several volunteers from Lexington-area schools completing service hours for their student organization. We are happy to accommodate you, and we will validate any paperwork that you need us to.

Of course! When filling out the application form, you will be asked to indicate which area(s) you’d like to specialize in. Take a second and read through the descriptions above before deciding. You can select more than one!

Yes! Any item that you buy in our store will automatically be granted a 20% discount. This applies any time you make a purchase! No other discounts apply, and if you find an item while sorting that you’d like to buy, we will insist that someone else price it to ensure that it is priced fairly.