Photo by Addie Losurdo

Sitting at a desk past the rows of books laid out for the Book Fair, senior Kimberley Walters assists people in purchasing books and finding titles. The Book Fair is taking place Dec. 16 through Dec. 20, and is an annual event during which students and faculty have the opportunity to go and purchase books and other trinkets in the library. Kimberley said she encourages all to go to the Book Fair, even if they think they don’t like to read. “If you make reading something that is fun for you and you find the things that you like to read, it will never be a chore,” Walters said. “So [the Book Fair is] a good opportunity to find something that will respark your want to read [like] when you were a child and you went to the book fair and you loved the ‘I survived’ books. Maybe you’ll find your ‘I survived’ books of your high school experience, and it’ll re-spark that kind of love for reading that may have died out.”

Perusing through the tables stacked high with books, a student searches for one they’d like to purchase. Table after table they find nothing, and as they approach the last table, they begin to lose hope. However, as they reach the very end, they spot a cover peeking out through the others that seems to call to them, and they know they’ve found the one.  

The Book Fair is taking place Dec. 16 through Dec. 20, and students and faculty can purchase books and other trinkets in the library. This is the second year that Librarian Keri Burns has partnered with the local bookstore BookPeople to provide the items to be sold in the Book Fair. Senior and vice president of Page Turners Club Kimberley Walters said she helps Burns decide what quantity and type of books should be brought in. 

“We made sure that we catered specifically towards new releases and what would be popular and appreciated,” Walters said. “We wanted to create the most inclusive list to where you wouldn’t have to spend an arm and a leg [for a book], so we tried to include many paperbacks because [they are] less expensive and to make it more accessible for the people benefiting from the books. All of the proceeds that we get are going back to buying new books for the library and keeping it up to date.”

BookPeople has a basic inventory list they use for high school book fairs, but the library can also make additional requests. Last year, Burns requested books by local authors and books that are popular in the library. In addition to those requests, this year Burns requested picture books and middle grade books so students and teachers can shop for young friends and family members as well. Burns said she asks for feedback from teachers to know what requests to make of BookPeople.

“I like to think that I’ve cultivated an atmosphere and an open door type of policy with the rest of the staff and myself,” Burns said. “When I sent out the book fair schedule asking if anybody wanted to bring their students down, a few of our staff replied [saying], if we’d have a wide range of books, would we [also] have some Spanish titles? I called BookPeople, [and] they were immediately excited for that and said yes, so I was able to let those teachers know that their requests were received and would be fulfilled, and those teachers will be bringing their classes down [which] made me really excited.”

Senior and president of Page Turners Club, Amia De Leon, said she will be at the book club both as a patron and a volunteer to help people find the titles they need, run the register and arrange the book displays.

“I’m super excited for the book fair [and] I’m most looking forward to buying books,” senior Amia De Leon said. “I buy a lot of books per month, probably more than I should. I always like seeing new titles, and I like seeing what other people are picking out because that’s just a really good way to see books that I haven’t read or if I see somebody picking something up that I have read, I can strike up a conversation with them.”

The library gets 20% of the profit from selling the books. Last year, over $5,000 of books were sold, so the library was able to spend over $1,000 on purchasing new books. This year, the library has made $3000 in sales after two days, and Burns said her goal is to exceed the amount raised last year. 

“The wonderful thing is, just like a spirit night at a restaurant or something, you know that when you shop this book fair, you’re giving back to your school,” Burns said. “You’re giving back to a local indie bookstore, BookPeople, and your impact is is spreading and getting further than when you go buy [a book] off of Amazon or even at Barnes & Noble. You’re going to get more bang for your buck.”

In the spring, Paper Bark Birch Books and the PTSA will partner to hold another book fair. Burns said she hopes to use her experience running book fairs to help Paper Bark Birch Books reach more readers.

“I just want to encourage people to not quit searching,” Burns said. “Even if you’ve had 20 books that weren’t for you, maybe the next one will be, and the joy that comes [with] that next one is so worth it. It’s worth the try again. It’s worth the open a book again. So I hope that people discover some books at the book fair that they hadn’t discovered before, and I hope it sparks or continues that love of reading that we really have here.”