A bookstore was brought to campus; many old books given a new life
The Friends of the Michigan Tech Library held a book sale in the MUB Ballroom on Thursday, March 30 and Friday, March 31. This annual book sale is the major fundraiser for the Friends of the MTU Library. All of the funds go towards various programs at the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library.
The presale on Thursday had free entry for students and members of the Friends from 5 to 7 p.m., and on Friday they were open to the general public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. During the last hour of sales on Friday, they had a $5 bag sale, where you could fill up a brown paper grocery bag with as many books for $5.
The Friends of the Michigan Tech Library pride themselves on making these books easily available to students and the public with their low prices; $2 for hardcovers, $1 for paperbacks, and half off on all fiction books.
Faith Morrison is a Board Member and Newsletter Editor for the Friends of the MTU Library. Along with being part of the group that planned the event, Morrison aided in assembling a volunteer team for the event.
Although the board plans the event and forms the core group of volunteers, the event is so large that they ask for help from other organizations. Facilities Management moves the books from storage in the library to the sale site and the library staff hosts a year-round book donation box at the library entrance. Student volunteers are found through the Office for Student Leadership and Involvement.
“We are so grateful and lucky to have a wide variety of student groups that volunteer to set up, take down, and work as cashiers at the sale,” Morrison said.
All the books for the sale were donated throughout the year by community members or were left over from the last sale. The library staff hosts a year-round book donation box in the library where people can easily drop off old books. The books available at the sale cover most genres, with subjects ranging from books in academia to fiction, romance, culture, self-help, cooking, children’s books, and more.
CDs and DVDs were available for sale as well. For the past few years, discounting two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, this fundraiser has had a total revenue of roughly $3,500 each year, reaching over $4,000 in 2017, and almost $6,000 in 2010.
More information about The Friends of the Michigan Tech Library and the book sale can be found on their website.
