Tucked away on Oak Street, the Book-Go-Round is overflowing not only with a variety of second-hand books but also with a rich historical background and a strong sense of community.

The humble, Spanish-style building in which the Book-Go-Round is located housed Saratoga’s first library, the Village Library, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The building was designed by renown architect Eldridge Spencer, who also designed Yosemite Lodge.
Also, Spencer’s close acquaintance, Ansel Adams, famous for his black-and-white landscape photographs, took two published photos of the building, according to the NRHP.

The Village Library resided in the Oak Street building from 1927 and left in 1981, shortly after the opening of the Saratoga Community Library on Fruitvale Avenue in 1978. Both libraries were run by the Santa Clara County Library system.

The Village Library decided to move all of its books to the Fruitvale location because the Oak Street building was too small, according to the current manager of the Book-Go-Round, Mary Jeanne Fenn.

After the Village Library moved out, several nonprofits, including Friends of the Saratoga Library, applied to use the empty city building. The Friends opened the Book-Go-Round in the building in 1983. The Book-Go-Round initially shared half of the building with another organization but eventually gained the use of the entire building and “has been going strong ever since,” Fenn said.

The Oak Street building has seen a fair share of notable people as well as books.

Twice named best actress by the Academy Awards, Olivia de Havilland dusted the children’s books in the building when it was still the Village Library. de Havilland is the older sister of actress Joan Fontaine, and their family lived “just up the street,” according to Fenn.

Significant books that have passed through the building include a 1642 copy of “The History of the World” by Sir Walter Raleigh, which was obtained an auctioned off by the Book-Go-Round.

All of the Book-Go-Round’s profits, except for a small amount used to maintain its building, are donated to the Saratoga Library.

“The money goes to purchase new books, media, whatever the library needs, and a lot of children’s programs,” Fenn said. “The library presents a ‘wish list’ and we do what we can to fulfill it.”

The bookstore is run entirely by volunteers and has about 100 people volunteer per month. Roughly 65 of them sort through books at the Saratoga Library, decide which are fit to be sold at the Book-Go-Round, price the books and shelve them, according to Fenn.

“Our volunteers are terrific,” said Fenn. “We have quite a few who don’t live in Saratoga, but they still want to work here, they still enjoy it.”

Students also volunteer at the Book-Go-Round, helping with paperback sales held at the Saratoga Library about five times a year. Some of these students are participants of the National Charity League.

“We get so many books, there’s no way we could do it without our army of people,” Fenn said. “It’s a huge undertaking.”

Another group vital to the Book-Go-Round’s community are the loyal customers. Many customers are dealers who resell the books that they purchase from the Book-Go-Round on the Internet. Fenn estimates that about 75 percent of customers are from outside Saratoga.

“Most of our customers are friendly and talkative, and they really love books,” Fenn said.

The friendly atmosphere at the Book-Go-Round keeps the bookstore’s community running happily.

“Our volunteers are great, the library people that we work for are really appreciative, and our customers, most of them, are repeat customers—they really like the Book-Go-Round,” Fenn said.