What We Do

Many people think that we’re just a used bookstore; however, we’re actually much more than that. While it’s true that we sell books, media, and other items at affordable prices, that’s just one way that we support the Lexington Public Library. Throughout our long history, the Friends of the Lexington Public Library has had a major impact on the library, as well as some other amazing organizations in our community. Continue reading to learn more about what we do.

The main goal of the Friends of the Lexington Public Library is to provide financial, advocacy, and volunteer support to the Lexington Public Library. Our fundraising efforts for the Lexington Public Library include direct monetary support to the library, as well as donations for the funding of library branch construction and direct donations for the promotion of library activities as well as gatherings for library staff members. Through our varied and robust fundraising efforts, we have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Lexington Public Library over the years.

The main way that we accomplish this is, in fact, through selling books. If you know about our Friends Book Cellar, then you know that this is our biggest source of revenue and is a major contributor to our monetary success. The Friends Book Cellar is our main base of operations. Here, we take and process donations from members of the community, preparing them for sale in our store space. The Friends Book Cellar location is also the site of our online sales operation, a rapidly-expanding effort to list higher-value, unique, and interesting items on eBay and Amazon. These two operations make up the base of our financial success. In recent years, we have been holding our book sales at the Friends Book Cellar space as well. Twice a year, we hold a large book sale that allows the public to purchase a wide variety of items at prices even lower than those of our store. Operating the Friends Book Cellar is a major way that we raise funds for the Lexington Public Library, but more recently, we’ve adopted a new way to simultaneously raise money for the Lexington Public Library.

Presently, the Friends of the Lexington Public Library organization actively partners and coordinates with other local organizations and groups in the Lexington area for off-site book sale events and other promotional activities. Hosting these events allows us to spread our fundraising efforts away from our main base in downtown Lexington while simultaneously allowing us to expand general knowledge of our brand and mission.

On several occasions, we have also donated books and other relevant materials to other local organizations to establish community partnerships and help other groups fulfill their own missions. We have partnered with libraries in other Kentucky counties, schools in Lexington, and numerous local businesses to further our passion for giving back, as well as grow our own brand recognition. We’re passionate about community outreach and are always happy to collaborate with others! In fact, our collaboration with others is one reason for our rapid success in recent years.

Finally, the Friends of the Lexington Public Library provides ample volunteer support for the Lexington Public Library. Through the Friends Book Cellar, we are able to provide a way for book lovers and other people interested in our organization to physically work at our organization, gaining hands-on experience with what we do. Our volunteers allow for increased efficiency within our organization. This increased productivity means an increase in support for the library. The volunteer-driven model of our organization, simply put, allows for greater support for the Lexington Public Library.

The Friends of the Lexington Public Library is an organization with a long and interesting history. We take an active role in our community, and we are highly dedicated to supporting the Lexington Public Library and other local organizations in the Lexington or Kentucky communities. Our commitment to supporting the library is widespread, and our community advocacy efforts are widespread. Through our efforts, we are able to provide a high level of monetary support to the Lexington Public Library, and our volunteer efforts ensure that our productivity level and ability to contribute to the library is high. You can help us in our efforts by donating to us, checking us out at an off-site sales event, or visiting the Friends Book Cellar. All of our proceeds are invested directly back into the Lexington Public Library.