Booksellers Donate Percentage of Day's Sales to Relief Fund

On Saturday, October 1, many ABA member booksellers joined in a special effort to raise money for the Bookseller Relief Fund, which is providing humanitarian aid to booksellers affected by disaster conditions in the Gulf Coast region, as well as for future emergency situations. Booksellers were encouraged to donate a percentage of the day's sales (to be determined by the individual store) to the fund, which is providing assistance for such items as temporary housing, food, clothing, transportation, medical expenses, and/or other personal items lost or damaged.

Among the bookstores participating nationwide on October 1 was Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, Vermont. Norwich's Liza Bernard told BTW that the store had noted the BRF fundraiser in its weekly ad in the Valley News of Lebanon, New Hampshire, and that the ad had even spurred sales on Friday, a day before the scheduled fundraiser. "People were definitely paying attention, which was really neat," she said, adding that "we had a day that met our goals."

Terry Lucas of The Open Book in Westhampton Beach, New York, spoke for many booksellers when she noted that "this is such a good cause, and we were happy to be able to contribute to it."

Lyn Roberts of Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, said that the BRF fundraiser overlapped with a Mississippi Hurricane Fundraising concert held Saturday, October 1, at the Tad Smith Coliseum on the campus of the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. In addition to sightings of TV stars Ray Romano and Jason Alexander in town, Roberts said that the concert brought more potential customers into Oxford and that "we had a pretty good Saturday." She, too, explained that, while it was difficult to gauge to what degree the BRF fundraiser may have increased sales, customers did note the fundraiser signs posted in the store. For Roberts and her colleagues -- who are now working with two displaced New Orleans booksellers at Square Books -- the national effort was impressive. "I just think it's so great that all these stores are willing" to help affected booksellers, she said. "We're all [operating] on a couple of percentage points, and for people to donate a portion of those sales means a lot to me."

Read Between the Lynes in Woodstock, Illinois, combined a Banned Books Week event, which featured customers reading passages from their favorite banned book, with their Relief Fund efforts. "It worked hand in hand," said owner Arlene Lynes. "It was perfect."

The bookstore posted fliers explaining the purpose of the fund and earmarked two percent of the day's sales to go to it. "We wanted to do more," said Lynes, who opened the store in July, "but we're brand new." She said that sales were higher than usual because of the Banned Books Week reading.

In Edwards, Colorado, the 750-square-foot The Bookworm of Edwards donated 15 percent of the day's sales to the fund, said Nicole Magistro, the store's co-owner. Magistro noted that, despite it being off-season for retailers in the ski town, the day went well. "We were happy to participate," she said. "I think our customers were happy to contribute to a specific group of people -- it's a nice connect for our customers to be able to make."

To learn more about the Bookseller Relief Fund, including how to contribute or apply for funds, go to www.bookweb.org/read/8092 [1].