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My name’s Jon and I’m one of two new coordinators for the McGill Book Fair. We’re one of the biggest book fairs in Canada, with tens of thousands of books in every imaginable category, as well as records, CDs, and even some paintings this year. All proceeds go to scholarships and bursaries—last year, we raised $75,000.
The fair has a strong base of support in Montreal, but it comes mostly from the more established elements at McGill and the surrounding area, and from people who drive in from out of town—professors, staff, alumni, and book dealers and collectors. With the exception of students who walk past our signs and poke their heads in, we don’t reach a lot of younger people or people outside of academia. Basically, we don’t serve nearly as broad a cross-section of society as we could, and I’m looking to change that this year.
FIRST: Come to the sale! Tell your friends to come to the sale! Join our Facebook event! There really is something for everyone here, it’s all cheap as hell, and it’s held in one of Montreal’s coolest historic buildings, Redpath Hall. The sale takes place Tuesday, October 23 (13h-21h), Wednesday, October 24 (9h-21h), and Thursday, October 25 (9h-21h). Redpath Hall is just south of the Redpath Museum, just north of the Redpath-McLennan Library, and just east of rue McTavish, across from the Shatner building on McGill’s campus.
SECOND: Volunteer for the sale! We’re still looking for a few volunteers, mostly just people to work at the doors directing people, as well as a few shelvers. If you’re free those days and want to help, send me an e-mail. We’ll figure out something that works with your schedule and you’ll have our eternal gratitude.
THIRD: Take our books for free! After the sale, we’re left with thousands of books that don’t sell. With a few exceptions, we don’t end up saving these for the following year, but instead give them to charities, non-profits, and essentially anyone who is using them for a good cause. r/montreal being what it is, I’m sure there’s no shortage of organisations who could use books. You can come pick up just one category, or two, or ten, or anything in between. I will ask for some proof/assurance that you are, in fact, a non-profit (legal or otherwise), but otherwise, there’s no catch. The more you pick up, the less we throw out!
FOURTH: Help us spread the word! If you’re a member of other lists, forums, blogs, et cetera whose readers would want to hear about the sale, do us a huge favour and pass it on. Again, eternal gratitude.
E-mail me with any questions, or call/text/page/stalk me at (203) 448-6086.
