The Book Burrow in the basement of the Downtown Lansing Library started out small when it opened in the 1970s. It slowly expanded and now has more than 2,000 square feet of floor space containing more than
70,000 books.
“I’ve found some of the most odd, wonderful books here,” said Sally Holliday, a Lansing resident and the only employee at the used book store. “You come to a bookstore to find things you didn’t know you wanted.”
The Book Burrow in the basement of the Downtown Lansing Library started out small when it opened in the 1970s. It slowly expanded and now has more than 2,000 square feet of floor space containing more than
70,000 books.
“I’ve found some of the most odd, wonderful books here,” said Sally Holliday, a Lansing resident and the only employee at the used book store. “You come to a bookstore to find things you didn’t know you wanted.”
The bookstore, which only is open three days a week, is run by about 22 volunteers who shelve books and work as cashiers.
“I enjoy it,” said Mason resident RoseMary Hopp, who has volunteered at the Book Burrow for 15 years and comes in twice a month. “I love books and this is a great way to recycle them.”
Proceeds from the Book Burrow go to Friends of the Lansing Libraries, a nonprofit corporation. The money is used for extra programming and other needs at the library.
Most books come from donations and are priced from 50 cents to $3.
“I’ve been shopping here for years and years,” Lansing Township resident Rita Berens said. “I like working around books.”
Berens is retired and volunteers at the Book Burrow.
Holliday said she has been working around books for years and values the aesthetic quality.
“I always come back to books; it’s not big money, but it’s my joy and my pleasure and just what I do,” Holliday said.
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