Thousands of books were sold and thousands of dollars made at the Armidale Central Rotary Club’s record-breaking Book Fair, which ran at the Armidale Racecourse from Saturday 19 to 26 May.
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The event, Rotary’s biggest fund-raiser, raised $65,000, $7500 more than last year’s takings. Nearly 50,000 books – 80 per cent of the 60,000 donated – were sold.
“It was a huge success,” organiser Ian Graske said. “We were up 12 to 15 per cent on last year. Our upward trend continues!”
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Only one of the eight days didn’t break a record.
The first day alone made $5000 more than it did last year.
Two hundred book lovers and dealers waited outside the door. Within an hour, around 600 people were at the site – and the crowd turned over throughout the day.
Some readers came every day, to make sure they hadn’t missed any hidden treasures.
The biggest sellers were science fiction, cooking, and art.
Among the more intriguing items were three boxes of old science fiction magazines a dealer bought for $150, and the magisterial 12-volume Oxford English Dictionary, micro-printed and condensed into two volumes. Magnifying glass included, of course!
"I was glad to see it go to a good home,” Rotary’s Simon McMillan said.
“One of the most satisfying things is that people come; they see a book they want; and they get really enthusiastic about it. We know that they're going to look after something like that."
Some of the money raised will be used for school breakfast programs and youth scholarships, including a NECOM musical scholarship, and sending a bright student to a science forum in Canberra.
Rotary members will also travel to Papua New Guinea in July to work on a hospital at Kokoda. The new Board will allocate the rest of the money in July.
“The support from the community is incredible,” Ian said.
"After all these years, we still get increasing numbers of books, and we wonder when it might slow down, but hasn't shown any sign of slowing down. In fact, it's the opposite!”
The Armidale community donated so much that Rotary will hold a two-day sale in December to balance its books. The club has 500 boxes (five pallets) of carryover stock to sell. Booklovers should mark December 1 and 2 in their diaries.
Book donations can be left in the yellow book bin outside the Bookshed in Dumaresq St.