Library's Gift Shops Add Online Store
July 20, 2011 — Do you love books, authors and book-themed decor for your home or office library? The Between Friends Gift Shops of the Springfield-Greene County Library District has launched its online store, so you can shop for the bibliophile in your life from the comfort of your home or anywhere in the world.
The site www.betweenfriendsgiftshops.org will take shoppers to a consumer-friendly, secure website that carries a selection of the unique gifts, jewelry and original designs by Ozarks artists that are available at the gift shops in the Springfield-Greene County Library District. The shops are located in the south-Springfield Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell Ave., and the north-side Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway.
The two shops, run by full-time manager Shelli Kaminski, her staff and army of library volunteers return about $80,000 in cash and gift donations annually to the southwest Missouri library district. Those proceeds help fund library programs and services.
Gifts range from $3 to $50, they’re tax-free and items can be shipped to your closest library branch, your home or anywhere.
While e-books and 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. They enjoy book bags, READ wall and shelf art, and T-shirt designs such as 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.”
“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,” Kaminski said.
The Between Friends Gift Shops online store will rotate merchandise to keep the selection updated for the seasons and upcoming holidays.
For information call the gift shops at 883-6936.