Kelowna Friends of the Library

06/01/2026

June = summer = holidays = reading. Gotta have books!
Yes it's book sale time! Kelowna Friends of the Library are hosting first of two fundraising book sales in our 2026 schedule:
Summer Book Sale, Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 June, 10am - 3pm.
Kelowna Friends of Library sorting base: Unit #114 -2476 Westlake Rd, West Kelowna V1Z 2V2 (next to Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital)
Good range of books for all ages & interests - fiction & many subjects - Children's books - Puzzles & games. Ready for summer holiday enjoyment!
Weather permitting, extra boxes will be opened onto tables outside.
Unbeatable bargains, usual prices: most adult books $2 & kids books most $1.
Card & cash payment accepted now at all Friends sales.
Fundraiser in support of all branches of Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) including Downtown Kelowna, Rutland, Mission Libraries
Summer Reading Club (SRC) events held by ORL libraries are a particular focus of our fundraising efforts. Proceeds also benefit year-round programming for children & families, youth, adults and seniors plus special author & guest presenter events and the enabling of special facilities such as maker spaces & STEAM technologies.More about Friends can be found at our website @ www.kelownafol.ca including how to donate gently used books year-roundEnquiries are welcome to email: [email protected]

05/10/2026

Kelowna Friends of Library are thrilled to have been nominated and have advanced to the Voting Round for Best of Kelowna Book Store!
Our spring/summer and Fall book sales make us a very unique “book store”. Friends volunteers love what we do in collecting and re-homing gently used books, at bargain prices, to new readers, of all ages and interests … and keeping hundreds of thousands of books and library withdrawals out of recycling. Friends have been running sales every year since we were founded in 1988 and proceeds are donated to enhance programming, services and facilities at Okanagan Regional Library branches across the Okanagan.
Throughout the year and beyond sales, volunteers pass on donated books to other groups and facilities to support their readers and communities e.g. teachers, seniors residential homes, university students, childcare centres and Niteo Africa.
Whether you buy books at our sales, donate books or volunteer your time to collect, sort or help at book sales, you’ve made this happen! We love your support. So please show us some extra love & Vote for Us

Voting open until Tuesday May 12th, at 3pm

Click on Bestof.Kelownanow/votes
https://bestof.kelownanow.com/votes/ #

If you have not already at BestofKelowna, create an account using your email address and a password. Or use your Facebook login
Scroll down to view the categories and select: RETAIL & SHOPPING. Select Book Store
Click: VOTE. Remember to scroll to bottom and click “SAVE VOTES”
Thank you so much!

04/11/2026

Thanks to all who have shown your Facebook love for Kelowna Friends of Library nomination for Best of Kelowna awards in the Best Book Store category.
To move forward into the official voting round, the FOL needs your nomination.
Nominees with the most nominations will advance (A maximum of 10 nominees ie "businesses" for each category). Voting round begins at 10:00 a.m. on 1 May.Responses to our Facebook posts for this competition and emails as much as we love them, do not count for competition purposes

Nominations are open until 3:00 p.m. next Monday 13 April.

How to nominate
Visit the Best of Kelowna website and submit your nomination for the Kelowna Friends of the Library in the Best Book Store category: https://bestof.kelownanow.com/
1.At Getting Started:
You need to do a simple account set-up to nominate and vote.
Log-in / Register and enter your email address OR use your Facebook login

2.Click a big green button
Nominate your Favourites or Nominate Now
Scroll down to : Retail & Shopping
At box: Bookstore - click Add new Nominee
At next screen, Add our competition name> Kelowna Friends of the Library Book Sales
& email is required [email protected]
So judges can learn more about what we do, enter our website! www.kelownafol.ca
A second category for which Kelowna Friends would be eligible:
Category Local Services, at box Non-Profit organisationfollow same steps: Add new Nominee [Kelowna Friends of the Library] with required email: [email protected]
PLEASE NOTE: Limit of one nomination form per person.Once you have set-up you login to nominate, it will be straightforward to vote.

Why it matters
The Friends of the Library play an important role in supporting the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) through their fundraising book sales, helping fund programs, services, and enhancements in communities throughout the region. That impact was felt in a recent donation benefiting all 28 branches throughout the ORL. The Kelowna Downtown, Rutland, and Mission branches each received $5,000, while all other branches received $700. Friends have been running book sales every year since we were founded in 1988. Hundreds of thousands of gently used books at bargain prices and great reads for all ages and interests have found new readers and been kept out of recycling!
Thanks for showing your support of Kelowna Friends of Library.

04/11/2026

Thanks to all for showing your Facebook love of Kelowna Friends of Library nomination for Best of Kelowna awards in the Best Book Store category.
To move forward into the official voting round, the FOL needs your nomination. We have to foster as many nominations as we can amongst our supporters! Nominees with the most nominations will advance to the voting round (A maximum of 10 nominees for each category)Responses to our posts for this competition and emails as much as we love them, do not count for competition purposes

Nominations are open until 3:00 p.m. next Monday 13 April.
If enough nominations come through, the Kelowna Friends of the Library will advance to the voting round, which begins at 10:00 a.m. on 1 May.
How to nominate
Visit the Best of Kelowna website https://bestof.kelownanow.com/
1.At Getting Started:
You need to do a simple account set-up to nominate and vote.
Log-in / Register and enter your email address OR use your Facebook login

2.Click a big green button
Nominate your Favourites or Nominate Now
Scroll down to : Retail & Shopping
At box: Bookstore - click Add new Nominee
At next screen, Add our competition name> Kelowna Friends of the Library Book Sales
& email is required [email protected]
So judges can learn more about what we do, enter our website! www.kelownafol.ca
A second category for which Kelowna Friends would be eligible:
Category Local Services, at box Non-Profit organisationfollow same steps: Add new Nominee [Kelowna Friends of the Library] with required email: [email protected]

PLEASE NOTE: Limit of one nomination form per person.

Why it matters
The Friends of the Library play an important role in supporting the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) through their fundraising book sales, helping fund programs, services, and enhancements in communities throughout the region. That impact was felt in a recent donation benefiting all 28 branches throughout the ORL. The Kelowna Downtown, Rutland, and Mission branches each received $5,000, while all other branches received $700. Friends have been running book sales every year since we were founded in 1988. Hundreds of thousands of gently used books at bargain prices and great reads for all ages and interests have found new readers and been kept out of recycling!
Thanks for showing your support of Kelowna Friends of Library.

04/08/2026

Kelowna Friends of the Library are thrilled that loyal fans appreciate our book sales so much that we have been nominated for a Best of Kelowna award in the category of Bookstores!
Our volunteers love what we do in getting gently used books at bargain prices out to new readers, of all ages and interests ... and at same time supporting programming and facilities at the ORL Downtown Kelowna, Rutland, Mission Libraries and libraries across the Okanagan Regional Library network.
So give us some more love and nominate us!

We hope you will also love news of our 2026 schedule of fundraising book sales:Summer Book Sale,
Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 June, 10am - 3pm
Friends sorting-storage unit, #114- 2476 Westlake Rd, West Kelowna (Next to Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital)
Fall 36th Annual Great Okanagan Book Sale,
Wednesday 14 to Saturday 17 October (week after Thanksgiving). Times tbd.
Immaculate Conception Parish Hall, Sutherland Ave, Kelowna. Yes Friends have been running book sales every year since we were founded in 1988!

Cheering on Kelowna Friends of the Library for their Best of Kelowna 2026 nomination for Best Book Store! 📚💛

02/08/2026

Donations of gently used books, puzzles and games can be dropped year-round to Friends sorting base ( #114–2476 Westlake Road, West Kelowna), next to Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital, on Fridays between 9:00 am and 11:30 am.

Friends also operate two drop-bins in Kelowna, for donations 24×7, small amounts only:
Okanagan Regional Library Admin Centre (1430 K.L.O. Road, Kelowna)
Parkinson Recreation Centre Carpark (Harvey Avenue/1800 Parkinson Way, Kelowna).

Please do not leave items/boxes next to these bins or Friends will lose the privilege of having these bin locations. Bins are cleared on a regular basis within each week. Large amounts / boxes must be taken to Friends sorting base on Friday mornings.

Please check our website for what we can/cannot accept before bringing you donations in. http://kelownafol.ca/donate-now/
Queries can be emailed to: [email protected]
Thanks for thinking to donate your items towards Kelowna FOLs fundraising book sales - to the benefit of Okanagan Regional Library branches across the valley. Volunteers are assessing our stock after a near-record Fall 2025 Great Okanagan Book Sale. 2026 sales will then be scheduled. It all depends on the quality and quantity of donations received in coming months.

10/18/2025

Last call for Great Okanagan Book Sale.
Saturday 18 October, 9:30am to 2pm
(sale doors will be closed promptly at 2pm)
Immaculate Conception Parish Hall, 839 Sutherland Ave.
Last day for bargains - up to 400 boxes worth of books still out on the tables (including 50 boxes in the kids room & dozens of tables of fiction)
Unbeatable bargains $2 for adult & young adult, $1 for kids books. And specially priced top quality puzzles & games and books perfect for seasonal gifts.
Card & cash payments accepted.

Friends want to truck back as few books as possible! And give our hardworking volunteers a well-deserved rest. BIG THANKS to all our volunteers and of course all our shoppers for your support in giving books new homes and in raising funds for our Okanagan Regional Library branches .
See you there

Send a message to learn more

10/17/2025

Send a message to learn more

10/17/2025

Friday 17 October. Come rain, come shine – the bargains keep coming – and the magic happens!

As Kelowna Friends of Library open Day 3 (Friday) of our 4-day Great Okanagan Book Sale, records have been set for $$$$ spent. There are still many more bargains & great reads to be snapped up. Last unopened boxes will be out on Hall tables, by noon today.
Dozens of tables of fiction are being refreshed. Biographies, cookbooks and many subject tables await. Great gift buys of individually-priced books – top quality Puzzles & Games have been moved front of Hall.
Adult & Young adult books, only $2. Kids books, $1.
Card & cash payment accepted.

Share in the magic by visiting the sale:
Friday (9:30am – 8pm) & Saturday (9:30am – 2pm)
Immaculate Conception Parish Hall, 839 Sutherland Avenue.

Tales of Magic from the Book Sale frontline:
Whole family with toddlers, school-age kids, parents & grandparents each with arms full of favourite reads - Child gleefully clutching the perfect next title from her favourite book series - Teachers & teacher trainees bagging bargains for their classrooms – Young man rebuilding his life & university dreams with new personal library, after leaving books behind in fleeing Ukraine.

Magic too will be created when funds-raised are donated to our Downtown Kelowna, Rutland, Mission Libraries and across the ORL's valley-wide libraries - including the magician himself Leif David whom Friends fund to perform at libraries for Summer Reading Clubs. And so much other magic that happens freely at libraries because of book sale proceeds.

Come one, come all! Come again!

Send a message to learn more

10/15/2025

Wednesday 15 October: Opening Day
It’s a fine day to buy a book, or better a bag of books. So say hundreds of shoppers at the opening day of the Kelowna FOL’s annual Great Okanagan Book Sale. The Hall is packed and bags of books are flying out the doors! Tables are being replenished as fast as they are depleted … don’t panic there are still hundreds of boxes still to be unpacked at front of Hall.
Sale is open tonight to 8pm. Thursday (9:30am to 8pm) | Friday (9:30am – 8pm) and Saturday (9:30am – 2pm).
Immaculate Conception Parish Hall, 839 Sutherland Ave, Kelowna

Huge thanks to volunteers some starting as early as 6am, who toiled for the whole morning setting up and loading tables. A huge shout out to Two Small Men Moving Company crews who handled the three van loads so courteously and efficiently to our directions. Stop to say thanks to our friendly volunteers wearing orange scarves! None moreso deserve our gratitude than the year-round volunteer crew (pink-shirted) who collect, sort & box donations and library withdrawals and who plan, promote and pull this all together. We are all so very excited to enjoy the crowds of happy shoppers … and for the funds raised in support of our libraries.

Reminder please to observe with patience, the new one-way traffic flow from Sutherland Ave into the Church – Hall access laneway and parking lot. Especially please at school afternoon pick-up hour (2pm-3pm) exercise care for school kids and daycare families. If you are able, in this period, please consider parking nearby and walking to the Hall.
Our sale schedule is expansive, until 8pm those weekdays; sale stock is considerable and replenished across the days. We appreciate the eagerness of buyers and welcome those returning for more bargains. But ask that you be aware. Friends want everyone to leave happy (and safely).