The Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library’s BookCellar opened in their temporary location at 44 Lyme St. (across the street from the Library) Wednesday, Sept. 18. Over the past three months, a 10,000 volume bookstore of gently used books and media housed in the basement of the Old Lyme Library has been condensed into this temporary space across the street. The rest of the contents went into storage.
The space is still an art gallery so customers can peruse the art while purchasing books.
BookCellar Co-Manager Joan Overfield notes, “We expect to move back to our renovated space after the New Year. Our 60+ dedicated volunteers staff the BookCellar Wednesdays and Saturdays. Visit us if you are in the area. Stop by to browse a hand-picked selection of books or drop off your donations during their regular business hours.”
Overfield’s fellow co-manager Claudia Condon adds, “Wednesday was a great day for Phoebe’s! We are excited to be in our temporary space. It is very bright and cozy–feels like a little book shop! Our volunteers are thrilled with the space. We had steady traffic all day with those bringing donations and shoppers. Some of the shoppers were Library patrons, who have been awaiting our reopening–we were closed for a month–and others were new customers strolling down Lyme Street and stopping in to see what we were all about.”
Condon also said enthusiastically, “We think the space will give us excellent retail exposure and maybe some new customers will follow us when we move back to the Library.”
All proceeds from the BookCellar benefit the Library. The BookCellar is open Wednesdays 10am-6pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm. Parking is on the street or behind Town Hall or the Library. New volunteers are always welcome at the BookCellar — drop in to discuss options with the current volunteers or call the library to find out more at 860-434-1684.
The move has taken place to allow the renovation project at the library to begin.
Yesterday, movers began work on the main floor of the Library. The room adjacent to the historic Reading Room (housing fiction and biography collections) has been cleared to make way for construction to begin soon. The attic spaces have been cleared, and most of the artwork has been removed from the Library to keep it safe during the duration of the project.
Phase I of the project will address the spaces listed above, as well as the lower level BookCellar. The precise start date of the project is yet to be finalized but is expected shortly.