Second Hand Prose gives old books new life at Georgetown Public Library bookstore

Don Ballard is a regular volunteer at the bookstore and has been involved with the Friends since 2005. He was encouraged by his late wife, Martha Lawlor, a deeply involved member of the Friends, who spearheaded the bookstore, music program, Bookmobile and more.

“She was a powerful person,” Ballard said. “The whole program has kept building since then. It has just grown and grown.”

The overview

The Georgetown Public Library celebrated its 60th anniversary in March and has been housed in its current Eighth Street building for 19 years. Second Hand Prose opened alongside the new library and has become the Friends' largest fundraiser.

How it works

Every day, stacks of donated books arrive from across the community. Volunteers sort through the piles before shelving them in the store, creating a selection that is constantly changing.

“We have a good selection of books and they change almost daily,” Ballard said. “You could come in every day and find something new.”

Located on the library's second floor, the bookstore buzzes with conversation as volunteers greet customers and chat with visitors while they browse the ever-evolving shelves. Everything, aside from the special collector's corner, is donation based, allowing customers to pay whatever they are able to.

“People are so generous,” Hahn said. “They'll give us a $20 bill for two children's books. It really is something else.”

The collector's corner houses rare and valuable titles, including signed copies and first editions. The bookstore sells particularly valuable finds on eBay. Recently, a set of works by Neil Maxwell sold for $300, Hahn said.

The impact

Today, the bookstore brings in between $60,000-$80,000 each year, accounting for most of the roughly $100,000 the Friends donates annually to support library programs, events and special projects.

“You can imagine ... how many books are going through [the store],” Ballard said.

Diving in deeper

As new technologies continue to shape our world, Second Hand Prose volunteers say they haven't noticed a decline in interest in reading physical books, and sales remain steady.

“After COVID-19, I saw working in the bookstore that teens started reading more instead of their devices,” Ballard said. “I think they got bored with their devices during COVID.”

For Ballard, the bookstore has always been about more than selling books.

“There's a lot of interesting people that come to this library,” Ballard said. “You find out what they're reading, what work they did, where they live. It's a really great place to learn about people and to meet people.”

• 402 W. Eighth St., Georgetown
• www.folgeorgetown.org/book-sales/second-hand-prose