UC Books
All About UC Books
UC Books began in 1979 as a small, annual sale offering affordable books to students. More than forty years later, our volunteers collect and assess over 100,000 books annually; operate a year-round bookshop in the college; and organize a large sale every fall. Proceeds from UC Books go to students and the UC Library.
All books are carefully examined by our trained volunteers and are sorted to go into either the annual fall UC book sale or the bookshop. Other items are considered for the U of T Library holdings, and some are shared with local non-profit organizations in Toronto and Ontario, as well as with schools and programs abroad in countries such as the Caribbean, Central America, and Africa.
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Fall Sale
Event Details:
Thursday September 26 - Sunday September 29, 2024
10am - 6pm
Clark Reading Room, University College Building
15 King's College CircleOn the first day only (Thursday, September 26) there will be an admission fee of $5 (students with valid photo ID are exempt). Friday through Sunday admission will be free. Most books will be half-price on the last day.
We will have fixed prices for fiction, mysteries, biographies, and more.
Other categories including: philosophy, Greek & Roman, history, politics, religion, travel, cookbooks, math, and science priced from $1. We will have our rare and special books collection for prices as low as $5.
We recommend entering the College using either the main doors or the accessible entrance on King’s College Circle. There is now an elevator to take you to the second floor.Watch this space for updates.
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Book Shop
The public is welcome to come and enjoy our beautiful space and large selection of used books.
The UC Bookshop is located in Room A102, off the Clark Quadrangle in the main building. The Bookshop is open Monday to Thursday from 11 am to 6 pm and Fridays from 12 pm to 4 pm.
Our shelves are filled with donated books in good condition. We are an excellent source of out-of-print books and have a special collection for rare, old, fragile and valuable items ($3 - $250).
Books are added to our shelves regularly and range from Art, Classic and Current Literature, Canadiana, Children’s Books, Drama and Poetry, History, Philosophy, Social Sciences and Religion to Sciences, Math, Reference, Travel and Mystery.
Prices range from $1.00 and up. Payments can be made in cash or with credit and debit cards.
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Donate
We accept used items in good condition such as books, DVDs and CDs.
Our volunteers handle over 100,000 items a year in our workroom. Incoming books are sorted, priced and directed to our shop and various sections of the Book Sale or to appropriate university libraries. Items which the Book Sale cannot use or sell go to student groups.
Your donations give students access to low-cost reading materials, divert waste from landfills, and help keep books in circulation. We are an important source for out-of-print books for readers and collectors. Revenues from the sale of donated books support UC students.
To arrange a donation drop off in our workroom on Tuesday or Thursday, please contact us at ucbooks@outlook.com. Please include your phone number in your message and we will get in touch with you by return email or phone to discuss your donation.
NOTE: We will not be making pickups of books or accepting donations of books in the work room from August 1 until October 15 while we prepare and run the sale.
We regret that we cannot sell Readers' Digest condensed books, National Geographic and other magazines or journals, or encyclopedias (some exceptions apply), out-of-date-textbooks or books with heavy highlighting or ink underlining as well as damaged paper-back books.
All donors must use liquor store sized boxes and pack the books lying flat rather than on end. Do not seal the boxes.
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Volunteer
University College Books holds its annual book sale every fall – but this year we’re changing things up a bit. We’re moving to a new month. Our sale dates this year will be September 26, 27, 28 and 29.
But just like every other year, we need energetic, enthusiastic and flexible volunteers who love books to help us at the sale, and during the setup period and on takedown day.
Setup includes organizing sections and the books within subject categories.
Sale duties include:
· working at payment desks (credit/debit and cash)
· organizing and restocking tables of books
· supervising rooms and monitoring exits
· assisting customers and answering questions
· helping in the volunteer room.
Takedown includes packing up material used at the sale and boxing up books for redistribution.
We will be hosting an orientation on Wednesday, September 11, from 1:30 pm until 3:30 pm in the Clark Reading Room (West Hall) in University College. Just drop by within that timeframe to learn more about UC Books and the important role that all our volunteers have in making our annual sale a success. Experienced volunteers will be on hand to meet with you, describe the job duties at the sale and answer any of your questions. Please allow about 30 minutes.
RSVP for the orientation at ucbooks@outlook.com.
Please sign up here: book sale volunteer application
Have a question?
