Kona library group turns rare book donations into literacy funding stream

A box of Hawaiiana that sat for years in storage is now being turned into cash for books, reading programs and library services on the west side of Hawaii Island. Friends of the Libraries, Kona has opened an online bookstore on AbeBooks, selling donated rare and collectible titles from Kailua-Kona to support the public libraries in Kailua-Kona and Kealakekua.

The nonprofit’s seller page lists Friends of the Libraries Kona as a 501(c)(3) based in Kailua-Kona and says the account opened Feb. 6, 2026. Its storefront is built around higher-end donations, including Hawaiiana, nonfiction and coffee-table editions, with all proceeds directed back to library services and literacy programming. The group is treating the shop as a recurring revenue stream, not a one-time fundraiser, a shift that could give its work more staying power than the seasonal book sales that have long helped the organization.

That need is clear in the reading numbers. Antonia Sanders said only 38% of elementary students in Kailua-Kona are reading at grade level, below the statewide average of 51%. Statewide, the 2024 NAEP Reading Snapshot for fourth grade showed 32% of Hawaii students at or above proficient and 61% at or above basic, while the Hawaii Department of Education said in its 2023-2024 Strive HI report that language arts and math proficiency remained stable but had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Friends of the Libraries, Kona is not new to this work. A 2018 profile said the group was incorporated in 1988, had more than 300 active members and operated under the umbrella of the Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i. Its regular book sales on the Kailua-Kona Public Library lanai could draw dozens of shoppers, and sometimes well over 100 during winter months when visitors were back on island.

The online shop extends that model beyond the lanai. AbeBooks’ catalog already includes Hawaiiana and nonfiction, with listings focused on Hawaiian history and culture, opening a path for collectors and local readers to buy books that also bankroll neighborhood literacy efforts. That matters in a state where Friends groups help support programs such as the annual Summer Reading Challenge, which drew 23,467 readers statewide in 2025, including 9,692 children, 3,091 teens and 10,684 adults. For Kona, each rare book sale now carries a second purpose: turning donated shelf stock into steady support for the next generation of readers.