Rare books on sale at Rotary fundraiser

Books are being bought by the barrow-load from the annual Rotary Club of Tauranga Book Sale - but there are still thousands to choose from.

Trestle tables full to overflowing with books lined the Seeka coolstore opposite Classic Flyers, as thousands of people streamed through the doors to browse and buy.

Chief organiser Ann Pritchard said several thousand people came through the coolstore on Saturday, and yesterday was also busy.

"Yesterday we had a number of people taking the barrow out with two or three boxes of books.

"A lot of people are buying $60 or $70 worth of books in an armful."

The highlight of the sale today would be the tendering of rare books.

The rare books had been on display since Saturday. As of yesterday, there had not been a huge amount of offers - likely because people were going home to research before making a bid.

Other popular items were vinyl records, which flew out the door.

"We don't take tapes or cassettes any more, but you can't beat the quality of vinyl," Mrs Pritchard said. "Fiction is probably the most popular side these days. The thing with non-fiction is there's so much of it available online.

"Encyclopedias usually just get thrown out."

The funds raised from the book sale would go towards a number of charities. The Rotary Club of Tauranga had a particular interest in supporting children's learning, so donated to charities such as Duffy Books and Dictionaries in Schools.