This year for the first time, a book fair will be held as part of the Community Giving at MIT campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 2 from 11am-2pm in the lobby of the Student Center.
Without stepping off campus, MIT community members will be able to purchase new, hardbound books at prices discounted from 40-70 percent off the retail price. The selection of more than 200 items will include books from the New York Times bestsellers list, children's books and gifts, cookbooks, and books on health, nature, gardening and crafts, as well as CDs, photo albums and other gift items.
Books Are Fun, the direct display marketer holding the fair, will donate 10 percent of all sales to the Community Giving at MIT campaign (formerly known as the United Way at MIT campaign). That donation will be in the form of a check or as a gift of books to one of the local nonprofit organizations supported by MIT's Community Giving.
"Everybody wins with the Books Are Fun book fair," said Elizabeth K. Mulcahy, manager of the Community Giving at MIT campaign. "Besides promoting reading to young and old alike, we can all save money and help support a worthwhile local agency that could use either the money or the books."
Members of the steering committee for the Community Giving at MIT campaign encourage Institute faculty and staff to make monetary donations to the campaign using the personalized pledge forms being distributed this week. Community members can give to United Way agencies as they have in the past, or to the MIT Community Service Fund or other local qualified 501(c)(3) health and human services agencies of the donor's choice. Donors can opt for the payroll-deduction plan, a one-time gift using a personal check or credit card payment, or gifts of securities, property, stocks or other forms of planned giving.
Everyone who makes a gift to the campaign will be automatically entered into an end-of-campaign raffle for prizes donated by local merchants.
Anyone with questions about the book fair or any aspect of the Community Giving at MIT campaign may contact Ms. Mulcahy at ekm@mit.edu or Annmarie Cameron in the Office of Special Community Services at acameron@mit.edu or x3-7914 or see the campaign web site.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 27, 1999.
