Kelowna Friends of the Library
#114-2476 Westlake Road V1Z 2V2 West Kelowna, BC, Canada

Watch our Picture Book Read-aloud, Waiting for Santa, at https://youtu.be/i3Q5EhJECCE

Good news- sad news post! Friends donations bin at the ORL Admin Centre at 1430 KLO Road is now re-opened for 24 x 7 drop-off. In addition to the Friday morning drop-offs that can be done when volunteers open our Westlake Road (West Kelowna) sorting-storage base Friends will not be holding our Fall/November Annual Great Okanagan Book Sale - the first time in 32 years but pandemic conditions make it too challenging to manage the large crowds that our GO sale attracts. Friends are planning towards book sales in spring 2021. Updates will appear on our website www.kelownafol.ca and by posts here.

Kelowna Friends of Library advise that our Westlake sorting facility is once more open to accept book donations. #114-2476 Westlake Road, West Kelowna. Friday mornings 9am - 11:30am. Physical distancing applies so volunteers ask that you drop your donations on book carts placed outside the doors. Please do not leave donations at any other time. Our drop-off box outside the ORL Admin Centre on KLO Road is not yet available. No decision has been yet made as to whether our annual Fall Great Okanagan Book Sale will proceed. Keep check here and at our website www.kelownafol.ca for updates about donations and fundraising book sales.

More information on the local authors featured in the virtual reading series Read Local Okanagan that starts tomorrow Tuesday March 31 at 6:30pm then follows for next Tuesday and Thursday evenings! Great chance to be read to and chat online with these awesome writers

Kelowna Friends of LIbrary are excited to join in a special virtual reading series with Read Local Okanagan writers and in support of arts non-profits in our valley!!! In the first reading on Tuesday March 31and on the theme of ‘Survival’ you'll hear from: Alix Hawley, author of 'All True Not a Lie' and 'My Name is a Knife'... Shelley Wood, author of 'Quintland Sisters' Francie Greenslade, author of 'Shelter' Plus, in a webinar-style format, you get to interact with writers via chat, polling and a live Q&A session at the end! And we are providing closed captioning. A portion of the proceeds from the first reading will go to Kelowna Friends of the Library! Your $10 registration gets you access to all 4 readings!! Same link. Same time (6:30 pm PST). Tuesdays and Thursdays. April 2 - Sharon Thesen & John Lent (non-profit TBD) April 7 - Natalie Appleton, Patti Shales Lefkos & Michelle Doege (Caetani Centre) April 9 - Sean Johnston, Corrina Chong & Adam Lewis Schroeder (non-profit TBD) Register to save your spot! https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ylulg_yIRo2jr_u2DBAzkQ With Zoom, you can just click on the linkno need to download. Right now we’re set up for 100 attendees. If there is more demand, we will increase capacity. Thank you for supporting our artists & our arts organizations!! We all need a little art right now!! Your support means so much. Happy reading and being read to!

Due to COVID-19, Friends Sorting base at Westlake Road will be closed indefinitely on Fridays for donations drop-off. For the immediate term, your donations can still be dropped into the Friends bin at ORL Admin Centre on KLO Road. FOL volunteers will on a weekly basis clear the bin instead of ORL staff from the Admin Centre and at all branches who are working from home. If the bin appears full, please do not leave items/boxes beside it. We will update by Facebook and our website (www.kelownafol.ca) when we are able to resume taking your donations. Stay safe and well.

Book bargain alert! Today Saturday is the LAST DAY of Kelowna Friends of the Library Great Okanagan Book Sale! Immaculate Conception Parish Hall, Sutherland Ave. Last boxes of adult & children's books were unpacked on Friday night. Sale doors CLOSE AT 2PM! Thanks for your support to our local libraries.

Calling all families and teachers! Friends have loaded the last boxes of books to the Book Sale Children's Room this Friday night. There are many awesome picture books and readers left for your kids to enjoy! Come catch the bargains - just $1 each - Saturday is the LAST sale day, 9am to 2pm. The last boxes were also unpacked in the main hall. So whether you are heading to Friends Great Okanagan Book Sale for the first time on Saturday or coming back for another round of bargain hunting, there are still many great books to take home - at just $2! Friends are thrilled by the public's response over these two days and you can be sure the proceeds will be invested wisely in Library programming and facilities. The books are calling!

Only one sleep to go until the big sale day! The tables are packed. Thousands of books are waiting to leap into the hands of new readers! Sale doors open Thursday at 9:30am and close at 7pm so you can catch the sale after school and after work! As you are browsing please say hi and thanks to our volunteers whom you'll recognise by their orange scarves (more than 100 are scheduled) They are avid readers themselves and passionate about our libraries. They will be pleased to help you and appreciate the support these book buys mean for the libraries! Happy bargain hunting!

This is the week Kelowna/Okanagan book lovers have been waiting for all year! Doors will open on Thursday at 9:30am for Kelowna Friends of Library 31st Great Okanagan Book Sale. Adult books in main hall for just $2, kids books an even bigger bargain at $1 each in Children's Room. Plus great gift buys to be found in the main Hall Premium Books section. Funds raised go towards awesome programming for all ages, toddlers to teens to adults at the Okanagan Regional Library downtown Kelowna, Mission and Rutland branches, amazing new tech in the MakerSpace at Kelowna branch and a share of proceeds goes to projects that benefit all library branches, small and smaller, across the Okanagan Regional Library network. Are you ready? Queries can be directed to email [email protected]

Happy Halloween from Kelowna Friends of the Library! If you don't get enough treats tonight then you only have one week left to wait before the start of our 31st Great Okanagan Book Sale! Sale doors open to all the book bargains in the Immaculate Conception Parish Hall at 9:30am on Thursday 7 November.

Friends of Library are happy to be promoting our activities in support of the Okanagan Regional Library and the downtown Kelowna Branch, this Saturday 19 October, 11am - 4pm. Come chat with our volunteers to learn about our activities, pick up information on our upcoming 31st Great Okanagan book sale and the great library programs for all ages ahead in Fall