Rotary opens second-hand bookshop in Docklands

The Rotary Club of Carlton has teamed up with the Rotary Club of Albert Park to launch a second-hand bookshop at The District Docklands to raise funds for community projects.

The new shop is being run by Rotary volunteers and will be open seven days a week from 10am to 5.30pm, offering a wide variety of books, DVDs, CDs, records, and other multimedia, all of which have been donated, including the shelving they sit on.

Rotary Club of Carlton member Janet Ferguson said they were excited to have the opportunity to open the bookshop and help support the local community, with book prices starting from $1.

“The benefits of this joint venture are sharing costs, maximising sales, and providing a place for people to browse through a large collection of second-hand books,” she said.

As we shared a storage area at Docklands, so when the opportunity came to relocate to a retail space, both clubs agreed to jointly run the retail shop.

All funds raised from the bookshop, which opened February 5, will go towards local and overseas projects that both clubs are running, such as striving to educate women in Afghanistan.

“We appreciate and thank the community for their support in donations and purchases from our store,” Ms Ferguson said.

The Rotary clubs will occupy the space at The District for six months, which will be reviewed thereafter.

The Rotary Club of Carlton had previously sold books at weekend book fairs held at the Kathleen Syme Centre and at retail shops on Lygon St, Carlton.

Rotary Club of Albert Park will continue to sell books in Bay St, Port Melbourne each Saturday.

Volunteers donate their time to supporting projects such as mental health research, people experiencing homelessness, Victoria Police camps for disadvantaged children, swimming lessons and more. •

Caption: Rotary Club of Carlton member Janet Ferguson and Rotary Club of Albert Park member Carol Oxley at the new second-hand bookshop in Docklands. Photo: Ajay Vishanath.