A Day In A Second Hand Bookshop

A Day in a Secondhand Bookshop

We’ll be posting a series of blogs about what it means to volunteer at Oxfam’s secondhand bookshop in Headingley. Read on for the first instalment from Ewan Povey.

We have a rhythm here at Oxfam Books in Headingley. The work ticks along, with volunteers doing almost all tasks. Books flow through the doors, in and out; what happens in between? They are first taken to our sorting room where we distinguish those that cannot be sold in the shop from those we can. The former are split in two. One group are cascaded to other Oxfam shops, non bookshops in most cases. The second group, books are sent to Bookbarn in Huddersfield either for selling them online ir recycling. The books we keep are divided between those to be price checked online and those to be priced by sight and shelved immediately. This last group is the bulk of our trade. A large quantity of these are contemporary fiction, science fiction/fantasy/horror, thrillers and modern mass market non fiction.

So the day moves by with a mix of work and lively conversation with both staff and customers. Very often we seem to find the answer to it all only to have forgotten the question as Douglas Adams would have it, but that is half the fun. All the while books are washing on the tide out of our ‘banana boxes’, on and off the shelves, into bags and hence to the garden, bath or beach.

There are the delights of seeing a first time customer utterly rapt by this Aladdin’s cave or Jungian treasure trove. There is the excitement of a volunteer finding a signed letter by C.S.Lewis or a rare book of poetry by Marc Bolland, both of which bring in valuable revenue for Oxfam’s work here and abroad.

Most importantly though, it is a glowing centre of good will and community and of knowledge. Yes most of the thinking people, be they retired academics or ribald autodidacts, will pass through its doors along with all those who just love a good book.

Speaking personally, volunteering at Oxfam has been a life changing experience, much thanks to the managers, volunteers, customers, the work and of course the books. Come in and have a poke around and see where it takes you…

Ewan Povey

Ewan is a Leeds-based writer who regularly volunteers at Oxfam Books, Headingley.