Boca Raton, FL  - Steve Moore, volunteer, Friends of the Boca Raton Public Library bookstore, downtown Boca Raton Public Library

Q:  Have long have you been volunteering with the Friends?   

A:   I have been volunteering at the Friends bookstore since 2007.  I am there almost every day! The best part of working at the bookstore is the people I have met; readers in general tend to be nice and very interesting, and we do have a love of books in common.  My fellow volunteers are a joy to work with and some have become lifelong friends.  I look forward to seeing the regular visitors who come to the bookstore on Saturday mornings when I am there, and wonder if something is wrong if they don't show up!

Q: What's your favorite thing about volunteering at the bookstore?     

A:  I enjoy selling books on Amazon.com for the Friends.  I do a lot of the initial sorting of donations and try to pick out the books that I feel will have enough value to list on Amazon.  Sorting through the books is like an Easter Egg Hunt, it's a great feeling when I find valuable books.  We currently have over 250 books listed on Amazon from about $10 to a few hundred dollars.  We make about $1000 a month in Amazon book sales for the Friends, so it's rewarding work!  It would be great to have some more volunteers sign up to help out with online sales.  You really don't need much in the way of computer skills to sell on Amazon; just an interest in books.   

Q:  What are your favorite books that the bookstore sells and why?  

A:  I tend to read non-fiction books about health, longevity and personal improvement.  I have found some great books as visual reference guides in my attempt to teach myself drawing and painting illustrations. That's another great part of volunteering at the bookstore:  finding books that I had no idea existed and now can't wait to read!

Q: What is something people might not know about you?   

A:  Most of my professional life was spent as an Optician. I made eyeglasses, mostly on Long Island.  There were a few times that I had considered buying a used bookstore over the years but never did.  Fortunately for me the Friends give me a lot of autonomy so it feels like I do have my own bookstore.