Hundreds of people visited the annual Lifeline Easter Book Fair, which began on Friday and runs until Sunday, in Warrnambool.

Lifeline South West Vic fund-raising and sustainability manager Bess Slater said shoppers enthusiasm on Friday and Saturday was pleasing.

“It was really good,” Ms Slater said. “(On Friday) we definitely raised over and above what we did on the first day last year. We’ve had a great response. It’s been awesome.”

She said they were on track to raise $20,000 from this year’s event for Lifeline’s crisis support and suicide prevention services and training. 

The event is in its fourth year and books came from as far away as Canberra, ensuring there was a great selection of titles.

“We’re continually bringing out new stock. We’re replacing it as we go along so you pretty much get a new table of books every couple of hours.” 

A new addition this year was CDs and children’s books were also sought after.

“Hardbacks and paperbacks have been popular and we’ve had a lot of collectors coming in saying ‘have you got this (title)?’ They’ve almost got the whole set but they’re missing a couple.”

One person looking for specific titles was Jenny Baulch from Camperdown.

She was searching for Danielle Steel books to complete her collection and left the fair with a box of the author’s titles under her arm. 

“I thought I’d come in and have a look. I’m having a ball,” Mrs Baulch said.

Ms Slater said despite changing technology, books still resonated with readers. “It’s so good that people still love books.” 

She thanked the community for its donations and volunteers who helped make the event a success.

“We encourage people to donate back to us,” Ms Slater said. “Some people have come every year and they’ve got books from last year and rotate them around which is really nice.” 

Funds raised will go towards Lifeline’s support following suicide program as well as its 13 11 14 crisis support line.

Ms Slater said the event also raised awareness about Lifeline’s role in the community, which helped to break down stigma around mental heath “and that it’s okay to ask for support”.