The OXFAM bookshop in Marylebone
When I first came to London and had yet to find a job, Sekar suggested I do some volunteering work. This would help me network and interact with people.
One day as Narayan and I were coming back from Waitrose our local grocers, a ‘Volunteers Urgently Needed’ board caught my attention. So we walked towards it and I found a notice that said “The Oxfam Book Shop needs volunteers urgently”. So the next day without much confidence, I walked into the shop and asked to see the Manager. Martin Penny the Manager said I was welcome and gave me a form to fill. He explained I would work on replacing books in the shelves and I could do either mornings or afternoons (10 to 2) and (2-6) on weekdays or 12-5 on Sundays.
I went back on Monday at 10:15 and Martin showed me and another volunteer called Naila around. He showed us the different sections in the bookstore and the basement where the books were stored and sorted. He showed us how to price the books and how they need to be organized on the book-shelves. Most go by the author's surname, biographies by the subject's surname etc. And how to cull the books and replace them(anything older than a month). He also explained Fire & Safety regulations. This was quite easy work. And towards the end of the shift, he explained how the cash till worked and that was simple too.
I came home and checked the Oxfam website, I found Oxfam does a lot of work in Africa. The bookshop is actually a second-hand bookshop; people in the area donate books. We get donations of new books from writers as well. And all the money goes to Africa.
Volunteers can either work at the till or the books.
Working at the till is interesting (and not hard work) as there are different categories and we need know how to do cash, cheques and credit/debit cards. And answer the customer's queries- be it on donation or where to find a book and sometimes local directions. Interacting with customers is a wonderful experience because people do most often pause to talk. Also I get to see so many different people: some are polite, some down-right rude, some real picky, some indifferent, some chatty, some interested. It is amusing how someone sporting a £500 Gucci handbag and dressed quite elegantly tries to bargain at the till, though bargaining is not allowed. How some folks insist on a bill to claim a refund of £2.00. How some folks just come in and give £100 or £50 in donation.
The Oxfam store is a ground floor store that opens on to Marylebone High Street. It consists of the ground floor and basement. There are many thousands of books in the basement, I always find myself getting carried away reading something and pull myself back. It is thrilling to walk in and smell all the books and cheese sometimes. La Fromegerie, a famous local cheese shop is adjacent to the bookstore and often the book store smells of cheese.
Working with the books has been a real education. As some one who loves books and reading, this has been a blessing indeed. I did not realize how many genres of books are available; I mean I never really categorized books before except as fiction, non-fiction and education. The categories at Oxfam are:
a. Popular Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Crime, Thrillers
b. Literature/Classics, Poetry, Drama, Short-stories
c. Languages
d. Travel
e. Biographies
f. Sport
g. Self-help, Relationships, Education
h. US History, World History, UK History, Military History, Current Affairs
i. Cooking, DIY & Decoration, Gardening
j. Health, Women’s Health
k. Children and Teenagers
l. Art Catalogues from Sotheby’s and Christies
m. Computing, Business
n. Philosophy, Religion, Esoteric & Spirituality, Mythology, Psychology, Anthropology
o. Oxfam Trading – which includes greeting cards, bags, T-shirts, Gift-wrapping paper etc
p. First Editions of Classics (Collectibles as they are known)
q. Photos & Posters
r. DVDs, CDs, Audio Tapes, Vinyl
And a few more.
Jeremy (an old man who does not talk to any other volunteers) sorts all the books we receive. He is an expert who can recognize the classics, first-time editions, collectibles etc that are really valuable. He found a James Joyce first edition from 1914 or so, that was sold to Christies for £3500. That was so cool! Carrying the books upstairs to the shop and bringing them back down is a good exercise. We do take a break in between for tea and snacks.
Martin is very informal, he lets the volunteers come in and go as and when they want. And generally does not interfere or comment except in a positive way on what we do. He organizes a monthly Poetry event which is very popular. And cookery book writers come in sometimes to demonstrate. These are both quite popular and are usually sold-out.
Oxfam does not employ cleaners, volunteers do everything. When I walk in I am told either to do some sections- cull and fill or work at the till. Sometimes, it is up to us. So I use the time to check all shelves and arrange the books neatly. And sometimes vacuum and clean the kitchen.
When working at the till, it is quite exciting to see the monies coming in. I keep asking Martin how much we made and how we did the previous week. Christmas times are the most exciting as we do a lot of business then.
First time visitors to the bookshop usually get real excited, firstly because of the variety and secondly the price. We price the books at half, one–third or lesser of the original price and they end up buying quite a lot. Most often, the disappointment that they could not buy more is tangible in their faces.
Children are my favourite customers, they come in asking usually for Harry Potter or their favourite sports heroes and are so serious and well-behaved. They insist on passing the cash at the till and hold their books ever so proudly. There are also quite a few regular customers who come in and get chatting. Like this old lady who buys books from Oxfam and after reading it returns it back to us. We clear a chair so she can sit down for a while before she leaves.
It is also nice to meet other volunteers – it is like meeting a microcosm of the cosmopolitan London society. Some are nice and polite, some talkative, generally a good mix of all ages from teenage students to old retired folks and from so many different countries. All coming together to give something back to the community and gaining rather lot themselves!
One day as Narayan and I were coming back from Waitrose our local grocers, a ‘Volunteers Urgently Needed’ board caught my attention. So we walked towards it and I found a notice that said “The Oxfam Book Shop needs volunteers urgently”. So the next day without much confidence, I walked into the shop and asked to see the Manager. Martin Penny the Manager said I was welcome and gave me a form to fill. He explained I would work on replacing books in the shelves and I could do either mornings or afternoons (10 to 2) and (2-6) on weekdays or 12-5 on Sundays.
I went back on Monday at 10:15 and Martin showed me and another volunteer called Naila around. He showed us the different sections in the bookstore and the basement where the books were stored and sorted. He showed us how to price the books and how they need to be organized on the book-shelves. Most go by the author's surname, biographies by the subject's surname etc. And how to cull the books and replace them(anything older than a month). He also explained Fire & Safety regulations. This was quite easy work. And towards the end of the shift, he explained how the cash till worked and that was simple too.
I came home and checked the Oxfam website, I found Oxfam does a lot of work in Africa. The bookshop is actually a second-hand bookshop; people in the area donate books. We get donations of new books from writers as well. And all the money goes to Africa.
Volunteers can either work at the till or the books.
Working at the till is interesting (and not hard work) as there are different categories and we need know how to do cash, cheques and credit/debit cards. And answer the customer's queries- be it on donation or where to find a book and sometimes local directions. Interacting with customers is a wonderful experience because people do most often pause to talk. Also I get to see so many different people: some are polite, some down-right rude, some real picky, some indifferent, some chatty, some interested. It is amusing how someone sporting a £500 Gucci handbag and dressed quite elegantly tries to bargain at the till, though bargaining is not allowed. How some folks insist on a bill to claim a refund of £2.00. How some folks just come in and give £100 or £50 in donation.
The Oxfam store is a ground floor store that opens on to Marylebone High Street. It consists of the ground floor and basement. There are many thousands of books in the basement, I always find myself getting carried away reading something and pull myself back. It is thrilling to walk in and smell all the books and cheese sometimes. La Fromegerie, a famous local cheese shop is adjacent to the bookstore and often the book store smells of cheese.
Working with the books has been a real education. As some one who loves books and reading, this has been a blessing indeed. I did not realize how many genres of books are available; I mean I never really categorized books before except as fiction, non-fiction and education. The categories at Oxfam are:
a. Popular Fiction, Crime Fiction, Historical Crime, Thrillers
b. Literature/Classics, Poetry, Drama, Short-stories
c. Languages
d. Travel
e. Biographies
f. Sport
g. Self-help, Relationships, Education
h. US History, World History, UK History, Military History, Current Affairs
i. Cooking, DIY & Decoration, Gardening
j. Health, Women’s Health
k. Children and Teenagers
l. Art Catalogues from Sotheby’s and Christies
m. Computing, Business
n. Philosophy, Religion, Esoteric & Spirituality, Mythology, Psychology, Anthropology
o. Oxfam Trading – which includes greeting cards, bags, T-shirts, Gift-wrapping paper etc
p. First Editions of Classics (Collectibles as they are known)
q. Photos & Posters
r. DVDs, CDs, Audio Tapes, Vinyl
And a few more.
Jeremy (an old man who does not talk to any other volunteers) sorts all the books we receive. He is an expert who can recognize the classics, first-time editions, collectibles etc that are really valuable. He found a James Joyce first edition from 1914 or so, that was sold to Christies for £3500. That was so cool! Carrying the books upstairs to the shop and bringing them back down is a good exercise. We do take a break in between for tea and snacks.
Martin is very informal, he lets the volunteers come in and go as and when they want. And generally does not interfere or comment except in a positive way on what we do. He organizes a monthly Poetry event which is very popular. And cookery book writers come in sometimes to demonstrate. These are both quite popular and are usually sold-out.
Oxfam does not employ cleaners, volunteers do everything. When I walk in I am told either to do some sections- cull and fill or work at the till. Sometimes, it is up to us. So I use the time to check all shelves and arrange the books neatly. And sometimes vacuum and clean the kitchen.
When working at the till, it is quite exciting to see the monies coming in. I keep asking Martin how much we made and how we did the previous week. Christmas times are the most exciting as we do a lot of business then.
First time visitors to the bookshop usually get real excited, firstly because of the variety and secondly the price. We price the books at half, one–third or lesser of the original price and they end up buying quite a lot. Most often, the disappointment that they could not buy more is tangible in their faces.
Children are my favourite customers, they come in asking usually for Harry Potter or their favourite sports heroes and are so serious and well-behaved. They insist on passing the cash at the till and hold their books ever so proudly. There are also quite a few regular customers who come in and get chatting. Like this old lady who buys books from Oxfam and after reading it returns it back to us. We clear a chair so she can sit down for a while before she leaves.
It is also nice to meet other volunteers – it is like meeting a microcosm of the cosmopolitan London society. Some are nice and polite, some talkative, generally a good mix of all ages from teenage students to old retired folks and from so many different countries. All coming together to give something back to the community and gaining rather lot themselves!