Second Hand Prose (SHP) is a non-profit, all-volunteer-run bookstore that has grown out of the annual secondhand book sale held for many years in the vestry of Vinalhaven’s Union Church. June MacDonald and Ginny Fitts have been instrumental in organizing and running the store, though they would be the first to emphasize that the success of the bookstore has been a collaborative effort by many people on Vinalhaven. MacDonald is a retired Biochemistry professor from Cornell. Fitts and her husband, Dick, first came to Vinalhaven for a vacation in 1985 and have been year-round island residents since 1994.
For years the Vinalhaven public library held a book sale every August, selling hundreds of books that had been donated during the course of the year. The proceeds went to support a variety of library programs. Although the sale generated as much as $1800 one year, it was becoming a difficult job. Husbands and friends of the library were pressed into service to move dozens of boxes of books between the library and the church. Over the years elderly backs began to give out and it became increasingly difficult to justify so much lifting for a sale lasting only a day and a half. Ginny Fitts remembers how “we all felt a little sad looking at those books that were left over. We saved some until the next year, and some we simply threw away, to our husbands’ relief.”
Clearly a more permanent solution was called for. In the fall of 2000, Friends of the Library asked Pat and Mike Bunker for a space at the front of their store on Main Street. The Bunkers agreed, offering a rent-free nook, and in January of 2001 a bookstore began to take shape. Pat Crossman and Wayne Cooper organized the initial efforts. A contest was held to name the store, books were donated, shelves were built by Bud Crossman and customers were lured by the availability of coffee and homemade muffins, not to mention inexpensive books.
Alas, at the end of 2001 Bunker’s store was sold and SHP needed a new home. At this point Cheryl and Chet Warren, owners of the nearby Island Home and Crafts, stepped forward and offered their space, since they were moving to larger quarters. MacDonald and Fitts recall feeling very gratified, since it showed that other people were also concerned about the fate of Second Hand Prose.
Moving to the new location on Oct. 11, 2002, had elements of an old-fashioned barn raising. Notices requesting help ran in the island newspaper, The Wind, and on the appointed day several dozen volunteers showed up. Marylin and Lyle Wimmergren directed the cleaning and painting; others brought bookshelves and many helped move books. At one point there was a regular Conga line of people passing books down the street, ranging from 4th and 5th graders to 80-year-olds. In addition, a modest grant from MBNA provided new lighting new lighting and additional bookcases.
Since moving to its new location Second Hand Prose has evolved and grown. Currently 16 volunteers take turns running the store during the course of a week. In its new location, SHP nets about $10,000 annually. All proceeds go to children’s and adult programs sponsored by the Vinalhaven Library and SHP. In 2004, SHP made a $5,200 contribution to kick off the drive for the expansion of the Vinalhaven library, which has remained structurally unchanged since its construction in 1906.
The “boom” months for Second Hand Prose are June through September and December, though the store is never closed. Boxes of books have been sent from as far away as California, Idaho and Texas. As June MacDonald says, “We are a very eclectic operation. We turn nothing down. We throw nothing out.” To keep the stock moving, twice a year there is a big sale on Anniversary Day (Jan. 29) and Columbus Day. At the end of the day unsold books are put on sale for $1 a bag. Remainders are donated to the Vinalhaven Eldercare program, Togus VA Hospital and the Swap Shop at the recycling center on the island. Children’s books go to a school in rural Kenya.
Betsy Bates, Head of the Vinalhaven Public Library, reports that when she goes to conferences she is mobbed with questions about “your remarkable bookstore:”
“How is it run? Is there someone we can talk to?”
Betsy says, “Although other libraries may sell books in a corner of their building, we are the only all-volunteer, not-for-profit bookstore I have heard of on my travels.” She gladly shares information with librarians throughout the state.
Remarkably, SHP functions with no meetings of the volunteer staff. Different people simply step forward to take responsibility for different parts of running the store.
Who comes in? As Ginny Fitts says, “You meet some wonderful people. There are many island regulars. And there are day-trippers who come in not only to browse or buy, but to ask for advice. People ask, `what is there to see on Vinalhaven? Where can we eat? Where can we spend the night?’ Some folks think we are the public library.” And then there are those people who come in and buy back books they previously donated. “Summer residents return each year expecting us to be here,” says MacDonald. “It is a great feeling”.
Second Hand Prose has books by Maine authors, art and travel books, history, poetry and reference books, a great selection of mysteries/thrillers and fiction, classics, cookbooks and children’s books. Recently a child rushed in, leading her mother to the children’s section in “her new favorite store.”
SHP is located on the left hand side of Main Street, about a ten-minute walk from the ferry terminal.