TROY — The Friends of the Troy-Miami County Public Library officially opened its new bookstore in the basement of the Troy library on Thursday, Dec. 7, offering gently used books and more with all proceeds going to benefit the Troy-Miami County Public Library.

Members of the Troy Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bookstore, which is located on the lower floor of the library’s main branch at 419 W. Main St.

“We’re really, really excited to have this place,” Friends of the Library president Connie Thiel said. “It’s been a dream of some of us for a long, long time to have an area like this where we could just store the books and sell the books, and bring more and more literacy to the community, which is our primary goal.”

“The money for the library is nice, but it’s mostly about getting books into people’s hands who normally might not have that opportunity,” she said. “We’re happy to be here, and we’re happy to work with the library on this.”

The bookstore carries a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction and children’s books, as well as puzzles and DVDs.

“We have everything,” Thiel said. “Non-fiction, soft-back and hard-back fiction; we have a huge selection of children’s books; it’s a wonderful selection.”

The store is open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day Monday through Thursday, Thiel said, and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Books are purchased by a donation to the Friends of the Library.

“We take donations,” Thiel said. “We have suggested donations, but we certainly accept any donation anybody wants to make, based on their ability to donate. It’s totally up to the person making the selection.”

“There will be somebody here to help them if they have questions, or to make selections or to find the kind of book they want,” she said. “If they happen to be out at the moment, we have a donation box on the wall.”

The bookstore will replace the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale, Thiel said. All proceeds from the bookstore will go to benefit the Troy-Miami County Public Library.

“The money all goes to the Troy-Miami County Public Library,” Thiel said. “We sponsor the children’s program in the summer; we sponsor different programs throughout the year for the library.”

Troy Mayor Robin Oda attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, presenting a welcome gift from the city of Troy.

“We’re very excited to have you down here, and to see you doing this,” Oda said. “I think it’s wonderful that people can come in and buy books.”

“I’m happy to see this,” she said. “I’m excited to get down here myself and take a look.”

“This is really exciting,” Troy Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kathi Roetter said. “This has been talked about for a very long time; I think this is going to be a valuable asset for our community.”

Thiel thanked Troy-Miami County Public Library Executive Director Rachelle Via and other library staff members for their help with the bookstore opening. She also thanked Heather Baker, Angie Cheatwood, Amy Miller and Friends of the Library donor and volunteer Marietta Kaufman, who is honored with a plaque in the new bookstore.

“She donated over $10,000 over the years to the Friends of the Library, and it was due to her that we were able to purchase many of the things you see here in the room,” Thiel said. “We appreciate all that she did for us.”

“Others have helped with loading shelves and doing other things down here that needed to be done, and we appreciate everybody’s efforts,” she said. “This wouldn’t be possible without the Troy community being here and getting the books. If people didn’t come, we wouldn’t be here.”