Book Sale History
Celebrating the 50th sale in 2024, here is a short video describing our history.
And here is a short timeline video:
The Planned Parenthood book sale began in 1973 and has always been an entirely volunteer effort. It is named for Mary Jane McCord who faithfully volunteered for over 30 years and was considered to be the heart and soul of the sale.
For the first few decades the sale was held each Fall in a different place, depending on where a vacant storefront could be rented. Whenever possible, the sale site was somewhere on State Street since foot traffic was essential. Books were sorted in small rented properties and members of the community left books for donation in an empty freight car located at the back of the PP clinic on Garden Street.
A major change took place in 2002 when a vacant storefront could not be located and it was determined that a permanent home was needed.
New leadership decided that the 2003 sale would be held at Warren Hall, on the Earl Warren Showgrounds. This required spending more on rent, but it also meant there would be adequate free parking and much more space than had previously been available. At the same time, generous donors provided space for year-round sorting and packing on Gutierrez Street.
Proceeds from the sale grew rapidly when the sale moved to Warren Hall and customers became accustomed to finding it there at the end of September every year. Many refinements were made, such as cash registers, the ability to take credit cards, a more efficient system for moving the sorted and packed books to the sale site, and a holding area so customers could leave books while they continued to shop.
Another major change took place in 2012 when the sale’s leadership decided to earn more revenue by selling some books online. In addition to our annual sale, we now sell books on Amazon, ABE and eBay. This has worked very well, particularly for books that are too esoteric for the local sale.
After taking off a sale year (2020) due to COVID-19 concerns, the sale moved to the Earl Warren Exhibit Hall in 2021. The bigger space was such a success that the sale remained in the Exhibit Hall for the 2022 sale, setting a new record for sales. Each year since a new record has been set.
We give thanks to the fabulous central coast community for their incredible support of the Planned Parenthood book sale, both through their patronage of the sale and through their generous donations throughout the year.