Shop Online with Between Friends Gift Shops
A William Shakespeare Bobblehead doll. Book lights. E-reader covers. Bookends. Lovers of books and libraries have come to rely on the Between Friends Gift Shops for these and other unique, book-themed gifts, jewelry and original designs by Ozarks artists and home décor.
The two shops inside the Library Center and Library Station fill every bibliophile’s desire, while returning $75,000 to $80,000 in cash and gift donations to the Springfield-Greene County Library District every year. Those proceeds, like the proceeds from the Friends of the Library book sales, help support the many library programs you enjoy.
Now you can shop at the Between Friends Gift Shops any time of the day, from anywhere in the world, at the Between Friends online store. You’ll find it at www.betweenfriendsgiftshops.org.
The online store features a selection of the merchandise from the shops. Gifts range from $3 to $50, they’re tax-free and items can be shipped to your closest library branch, your home, office or elsewhere.
“You can go to separate websites and pick up book-related items, but it’s nice to have one website that draws all reading-related items under one roof,” said Between Friends Gift Shops Manager Shelli Kaminski.
While e-books and e-reader sales are booming, many people are still drawn to book-related items, Kaminski said. People proudly wear “I’m with the banned” pins to celebrate the freedom to read. A favorite T-shirt bears the Groucho Marx quote,
“Outside of a dog, a book is Man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
And as e-readers move in, book retailers are phasing out book lights and other book-centric items, “So that’s left me with a niche,” she said.
Now Kaminski and her staff are ready to expand the walls of the gift shop, and invite visitors to drop in and look around.
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Here’s a unique music program: Tuvan music and “throat singing” from 4-5 p.m. July 21 at the Library Center.
A husband and wife music duo from Chicago will share their adventures with Tuvan music and their efforts to uphold the indigenous culture of the Republic of Tuva, a southern Siberian republic. It’s free and open to the public.
Find this article at http://thelibrary.org/blogs/article.cfm?aid=1471&lid=63