A book sale is not a new idea in Greenbelt. Annual book sales were happening around Greenbelt even as early as 1948 when the town was still new, according to the archives of the Greenbelt Cooperator. The Greenbelt Elementary School (GES) is taking their annual book sale into the new decade with their hybrid Labor Day Book Sale. During the 2021 Labor Day Festival, the GES Parent and Teacher Association (PTA) will be manning (inperson) their book-laden tables on Friday night, September 3; Saturday, September 4; and Monday, September 6. For those still not comfortable with crowds, those with mobility issues or those who just want to stop by their neighbors’ yard for a good “new” book, there is a second option.
On Saturday, September 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., yards around Greenbelt will have tables where community members can look at what their neighbors have donated. This type of yard sale was the only sale held last year. Eric McKenzie remembers that he and his daughter “enjoyed taking a walk around the neighborhood, looking through all the stacks for Star Wars books.” An exchange of books between McKenzie and fellow PTA member Ellie Twedt created a bond between the children who enjoyed the same book series. They have since exchanged gifts of new books in the series for their kids’ birthdays. Twedt enjoyed that sharing aspect of the small sales, saying, “It’s great! This is my beloved book and I get to give it to my beloved friend through the PTA.” Jessica O’Roark said she had a similar experience hosting a sale. “Seeing people enjoying our books, I liked seeing who our books were going to,” she said.
There will not be money exchanged at the yard sales but instead donations to the PTA can be made through PayPal on the honor system. A flyer with a map of all the locations, types of books available and a QR code will be available at the PTA’s Labor Day Festival table, online and posted at the yard sales themselves. To pay online, one can take a photo of the QR code and it will open a donation web page to enter payment information. Alternatively, visit the donation page by clicking on paypal.com/paypalme/greenbeltespta or go through the PTA website at sites.google.com/view/gespta/home. At the table at the Festival, the PTA plans to offer the option to purchase books with cash and credit cards.
The Greenbelt Labor Day Festival Book Sale is the largest fundraiser the PTA holds each year. It usually makes up a significant amount of the budget, if not more than half. That budget is used in a variety of ways. Frequently the PTA purchases gifts, food, experiences or even supplies for the teachers and other staff to make their difficult job a little easier. Most of the school field trips are subsidized by the PTA along with celebrations such as the 5th grade and kindergarten graduation ceremonies.
The big question for the bibliophiles of Greenbelt is: how can I donate books? (So that I can buy more.) There are a few ways. The most preferred would be to go to the PTA website and sign up to have a yard sale in your yard. The link is bit.ly/3lm4LVQ. Next, provide your address and the types of books you will be donating. No personal information is linked to the participant’s address. Copies of the flyer will be available at the PTA Labor Day booth on Saturday, September 4 before 10 a.m. Leftover books can be dropped off at the PTA booth on Monday, September 6 before 3 p.m. so that the book buyer can buy the leftovers. The PTA book sale booth is closed on Sunday. The yard sales will be smaller sales than the big multi-table selection the community is familiar with. Brianne Boylan, who hosted a yard sale last year, said, “I did nothing more than put out the books with a sign on a stick and sold about 25 percent of what was out there.”
For those wishing to donate books sold at the booth, contact the PTA at greenbeltespta@gmail.com. Because of the nature of the festival and the smaller sales, only books will be accepted – no magazines, encyclopedias or textbooks. Games and media may be for sale at the smaller yard sales.
In the time of Covid-19 and social distancing, the smaller-sale style has become more than a PTA fundraiser; it has become a community builder. Twedt commented on seeing families and friends she had not seen in months at her yard sale last year: “It was like a reunion in a way.”
