It's not uncommon for a queue to form before the opening of the Bendigo Book Fair that is several people deep and stretches 200m to the corner.
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In the leadup to the big event this Friday, March 29, volunteers are hard at it out the back of the Tom Tweed Stadium in Mundy Street, hefting boxes, juggling armfuls of volumes and sorting donations into dozens of different categories.
In fact, they have been sorting books every Monday and Thursday morning for a year now.
This video gives a sense of just how much effort volunteers go to:
Volunteer Wayne Meeham said he had never seen such an accumulation of donations, while book fair coordinator Garth Keech appealed for people to hold on to their unwanted titles for the moment.
"Quite frankly we actually have enough books now for the sale," he said.
"If people can hold off until after Easter before delivering books, that would be great."
A key event on Bendigo's Easter calendar for more than 50 years, the book fair is now entering its third year under the management of Bendigo Foodshare, who took over from the Y Service Club of Bendigo.
Last year it saw 25,000 books sold and $52,000 raised.
This year Foodshare has set a target of $30,000, CEO Michelle Murphy said, "to continue to provide food to Central Victorians" who were struggling to put it on the table.
As usual, tens of thousands of pre-loved titles will be on offer, with the bargain prices starting at just 50 cents and most items costing $4 or less.
Among the stacks - still to be set up in the space usually occupied by Palmer's Gym - are a lot of works by popular novelists Jodi Picault, Lee Child, Clive Cussler, Di Morrissey, David Baldaci and Robert Ludlam.
There are Enid Blyton books, plenty of Mills and Boon romance and 39 different categories of non-fiction.
Also on offer are a large number of rare and collectable books, a small number of large print publications and a range of magazines, records, CDs, DVDs, puzzles and knickknacks.
The fair opens on Friday at 9am and closes at 3pm on Easter Monday at the Tom Tweed Stadium on Mundy Street.
Despite the enthusiasm of the opening day crowds who queue, books are constantly being refilled and rotated by volunteers, the organisers say, "so there is always something new each time you visit".
Anyone able to lend a hand setting up from 10am on Thursday should contact Mr Keech on 0418 267 122.
