Volunteer with the Friends Book Cellar!

Volunteering your time with the Friends Book Cellar is a fantastic way to give back to your community! Being a Friends Book Cellar volunteer is not only a way to meet other book lovers, but
Please see below for a list of available positions. Our volunteers are a widely diverse group – retirees, high school students needing community service hours, or just people with some free time – and each one brings something different to our organization.

Thank you for your desire to be a volunteer! Scroll to the bottom of the page for a link to our volunteer application form.

Book Cellar Store Assistant: 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.

Sorting Room Assistant: 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.

Online Sales Assistant: 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.

Off-site Sales Assistant: 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.

Seasonal Volunteer Opportunities: 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.

Please call (859) 321-5505 or email sboes@lexpublib.org with any additional questions or requests for additional information.

Perks of volunteering:

  • Meet amazing people – volunteers, staff, and customers!
  • Support a local business with your time!
  • Learn about the inner workings of a small bookstore!
  • Discount (20%) off of your Friends Book Cellar purchases!
  • Yearly volunteer gatherings!

Scroll down to see a photo gallery of our volunteers doing what they, and the Friends organization, do best – having fun while supporting the Lexington Public Library!