“We’re not actively looking to buy the building because we’ve already outgrown it,” said Larkin Vonalt, executive director of Dayton Book Fair. “We had started to set aside money because we figured the time would come when we would need a bigger home. We’re also one of the biggest book sales in the country. We get in about 85 tons of donations each year, the building is 5,000 square feet and we have a waiting list of people who want to volunteer with us — but there’s just no room. We’ve realized we can’t put this off anymore. We really do have to leave and we really need to find something bigger."
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
A GoFundMe has been launched to raise an immediate $10,000 but a long-range goal of $1 million has been discussed. Dayton Book Fair already had nearly $59,000 on-hand but they are also reaching out to philanthropic organizations and plan to host fundraisers through Rabbit Hole Books, a secondhand outlet at 27 W. First Street that serves as Dayton Book Fair’s brick and mortar bookstore.
“We’re really grateful to people who have contributed but we’re probably going to have to talk to some foundations and some potential benefactors to come up with more money,” Vonalt said. “We’d also like to ask the city of Dayton if there’s anything on their rosters that they could maybe lease us cheaply for a long-term arrangement. We have a proven track record. We are a meaningful place to donate your books. People can donate books here and know those books will be cared for and re-homed in the hands of other people who love books. We’ve always been good stewards of the donations people give us.”
Dayton Book Fair would like to purchase a building preferably in downtown Dayton that’s at least 15,000-20,000 square feet.
“We don’t want to move again,” Vonalt said. “After we achieve this, we don’t want in two or three years to say our building is too small. We figure if we’re going to do this let’s get a space that allows for expansion in the future.”
Dayton Book Fair, whose mission is giving back through books and has a staff of 60 volunteers, also prides themselves on the services they offer the community. The money raised by the organization is shared as grants between three different Dayton-area beneficiaries each year as well.
“On Sundays we provide books for literacy-based non-profits,” Vonalt said. “Teachers can come and take all the books they want for free. The Dayton Book Fair also helps keep Rabbit Hole Books afloat. People come into Rabbit Hole Books and fall in love. They are charmed and delighted.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Vonalt is grateful in particular that Rabbit Hole Books had some foot traffic during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that took place in May in spite of logistical challenges surrounding the event.
“The first day NATO delegates arrived they came into the store but also commented why the city was so locked down,” Vonalt said. “I don’t think they got to see the best part of Dayton, which is, of course, the community. The community is what makes Dayton magic. Our regular customers couldn’t get to us because there was no place to park and the delegates couldn’t get to us without a great deal of effort because there was no nearby gate. We did 30 percent of what we might have done in a normal five-day period over a weekend. We were disappointed but thank goodness the people who did find us were shoppers who bought a lot.”
In addition the 2025 Dayton Book Fair will take place Nov. 7-9 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. Organizers expect to another sizable crowd locally and beyond.
“Our book fair is a bump for Dayton’s economy — we’re a national draw,” Vonalt said. “We get people as far away as Texas, California and Ontario, Canada.”
Organizers also remain hopeful the Dayton community will support them now more than ever.
“I have faith that Dayton is going to come through for us,” Vonalt said. “I feel confident come January we’ll have a new home but we need help to get there.”
For more information, visit daytonbookfair.com.
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