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Library Book Store In Transition

The much-loved Friends' Monster Book Store closed on Sunday, November 11, 2007. Construction of the new Twin Oaks Branch is in full swing on the site at South First and West Mary Streets. The new, cooperative Friends of APL and APL book store, called Recycled Reads, is expected to open in Summer 2008 at 5335 Burnet Road, Austin, with more store space and a great selection of books and other materials. In the meantime, the Friends are taking in donated books and weeded library books at a temporary facility located at 2117 W. Anderson Lane in the North Star Home Center located about 1/2 mile west of Burnet Road.

Persons interested in donating materials to the book store can drop them off at the sorting facility. Please call 512-323-5123 for hours of operation.

Thank you for supporting the Friends group and the Austin Public Library. We'll see you at the new store soon!

Friends Volunteer Opportunities

Renovation plans for the new bookstore, Recycle Reads, are still underway and we hope to be in operation later this fall. In the interim, we are focusing on how each branch can increase their on-site sales and host one-day events. Since sorting books for the store has been suspended, please consider assisting at one of APL's 22 locations -- probably there’s one near you. Some of the jobs you can do include:

• Administrative Clerical Support: assist with general office and clerical duties (Austin History Center)
• Book Shelving: return books to the library shelves (various branch locations)
• Circulation Support: search the shelves for lost materials and help weed library shelves of books that are no longer circulating (various branch locations)
• Inter-Library Loan Support: assist with photocopying, filing and mailing our books and library materials
• Storytime Connection: read to children at local childcare centers
• Austin History Center Support: assist with slide, photo and oral history collections

Persons interested in volunteering on a regular basis should complete a Library Volunteer Application and send it to the address listed on the form.

If you have questions or want general information, send an email to volunteer@austinlibrary.org or call 512-974-7443.

Group sessions: Contact Sharon Edwards (sharon.edwards@ci.austin.tx.us or 512-974-7443) to make arrangements.