Organizers of Guelph’s Giant Book Sale say they have made the “devastating decision” to cancel this year’s event due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The annual sale, which draws thousands of people every year, is put on by an organization called the Friends of the Guelph Public Library as the money raised goes towards the city’s libraries.
There were over 100,000 items available during last year’s three-day sale in October.
In a statement, organizers said the sale must be cancelled in order to protect the health and safety of their volunteers and supporters.
“This is particularly disappointing this year as the committee had hoped that profits from the 2020 sale would put the gift for the new library investment over $1 million,” organizers stated.
They said the Giant Book Sale would be back next year and donors are asked to hold on to any book donations to 2021.
Anyone interested in donating the money they would have spent at the sale can do so online.
As of Thursday, Guelph was reporting 135 cases of the novel coronavirus. Among those, eight people have died and 96 people have recovered.