Maitland Street Rotary book shop on the move

Thousands of books were packed up and carted across Maitland Street as the Rotary book shop moved to its new home.

In a scene reminiscent of The Beatles’ famous album cover crossing London’s Abbey Road, members of the Rotary Club of Narrabri and volunteers made good use of the Maitland Street pedestrian crossing with trolleys stacked full of boxes of books.

After being impacted by the recent wet weather, the book shop quickly had to find a new home.

Local businessowners Catherine McDonald and Martin Browne came to the rescue, offering the use of vacant premises next to their Maitland Street pharmacy.

Leading up to the big move, book shop coordinator Pat Norrie and Rotarian Chris Cole progressively moved a large amount of stock, assisting in the mammoth move at the weekend.

President Karen Kirkby said the book sale had been incredibly successful so far, raising almost $30,000.

Dr Kirkby thanked Catherine and Martin for their prompt assistance. She acknowledged Bruce Ireland’s continued support of the book sale initiative through the use of his shopfront which has served as a great home for the shop in recent years.

“Our book shop is such a great fundraiser for our club, with proceeds supporting local projects and initiatives,” Dr Kirkby said.

This week, Dr Kirkby and her Rotary board finalised end of term donations as she prepares to pass the chain of office to incoming president Jocellin Jansson in July.

Rotary will donate $18,000 to community and Rotary organisations at the end of Dr Kirkby’s year at Rotary’s helm.

This is in addition to funds spent on supporting the education pursuits of local youth among other financial contributions throughout the year.

For now, the book shop will continue at its new site, opening during the day on Wednesday to Friday and on Saturday mornings.