Both Sides Now–by Teresa Cox
I love the energy found on endless shelves of books … the authors, the illustrators, the photographers. I think about all the hands that have turned these pages when I visit The Used Book Store at the Warehouse on Saturdays and book sale events. I pile up and purchase my stacks, certain I will read every single one of them. They become my fix, my escape, my adventure.
Today is different shopping day. I finally give into my long-time desire to join the ranks of those amazing folks who keep those shelves full. I sign up. Today I decide that I am going to be a volunteer! I talk to a welcoming volunteer staff and select a date and time to help with the big week-long sale. I am put at ease with a brief overview of what I might possibly be doing. I complete my general info form and leave with my shopping fix for the day.
Weeks pass and the big *sale begins. My two-hour volunteer time arrives faster than I expected. I find my way to the special parking spots, stumble across the street and step inside. It’s not like my warehouse shopping days. I am a little nervous, wondering if I can stand up for the whole two hours or if my out-of-shape arms can file the books where they need to go. My fears fade away as I am met by several friendly and reassuring regular volunteers. I am shown the special volunteer resources and I get to pick a volunteer t-shirt or apron. I pick the t-shirt, put it on, and get an encouraging walk-through of my options to help.
I decide to start with refiling the books customers decided not to purchase. They are piled on a cart not far from the check-out tables. I grab a stack of Children’s books. They seem easy enough, not so risky to file back to the shelves. Some of these books are marked “Easy” and shelved by the author’s last name found on the binding. I file these quickly and feel like I might be making some helpful progress. I tackle the remaining Children’s books and I find myself doing long slow loops around and around the Children’s book isles, carefully studying and searching each row of shelves for similar books. After a few loops and no success, (and feeling very goofy wearing my volunteer t-shirt and having this look of complete confusion), a kind volunteer who often maintains this section offers me some direction. I get the books placed and begin to see some of the existing patterns and groupings. My initial confusion with a brand-new category of books is eased a bit and I am given even more appreciation for what the regular dedicated volunteers do.
I assist a couple of shoppers in their searches, remembering my own shopping experiences or asking questions of other volunteers who are always willing to point you in the right direction. I even sit for a little while and rest my out-of-shape legs while sorting out some boxes in the special Mystery and Romance sections. My time passes way too quickly, and I leave my volunteer time slot with a new appreciation for these shelves of books and those who maintain them. I learned a small piece of the dedication and the process, the attention and the joys, the muscle soreness and the rewards that make up the shelves that I love to browse and discover. I learned what a volunteer does and can do to make that difference. I have looked at these shelves from “both sides now” … and I know that I will volunteer again!
Thank you, Teresa, for sharing your time and experiences with us! We wouldn’t exist without people like you! –FPL staff