The Louisiana State University Agriculture Center replaced its farm animals for 60,000 books on the floor this weekend.
Friends of the LSU Libraries hosted its 49th annual Book Bazaar from April 10 to April 12 in the LSU AgCenter. The proceeds from the event help facilitate the growth of the collections at the LSU Libraries, such as the John J. Audubon Birds of America collection. For 10 months out of the year, Friends of the LSU Libraries collects books for the event and some can even be sold for as low as a dollar.
“It’s a labor of love,” LSU Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian Mitch Fontenot said.
Fontenot said he has been working with the organization for years. Friends of the LSU Libraries was founded in 1962, and the Book Bazaar began in 1976, so next year will mark its 50th anniversary. This year’s event was sponsored by Frost-Barber of Louisiana, LLC and Kean’s Fine Dry Cleaning.
Since its inception in 1962, the organization members have raised over $2 million for the LSU Libraries. The sale collection includes thousands of used and rare books, as well as CDs, DVDs and vinyl records. Shoppers could choose from an array of books on history, Louisiana, fiction, romance, nonfiction, the South and more.
“They raise great amounts of money for us and they’re just great people,” Fontenot said.
LSU Libraries Director of Communications Christine Wendling was pleasantly surprised at the amount of visitors who come to the Book Bazaar from far stretches of the state and even beyond its borders. Some of the shoppers have been coming to the event for over a decade, which she said speaks to how deeply it resonates with people.
Wendling said that not only is this event good for accessibility, but encourages sustainability. Instead of discarding books, they can now be donated to be resold at a much cheaper price to be repurposed. The Book Bazaar helps expand the culture of literacy that strengthens our community, she said.
“The Book Bazaar is about more than just books,” Wendling said. “There’s a real sense of joy and discovery in the air, and it’s always wonderful to see people of all ages connecting over a shared love of reading.”
Mass communication sophomore Elena Ramey entered the AgCenter not knowing what to expect. She was greeted with more books than she could have ever imagined, a majority of them being in good condition for being used. She left with three books, her total being less than $10.
Not only was Ramey shocked at the amount of books, but at the diverse group of people that the event brought together. Initially, she said that she was only expected to see college students wandering around to find a new addition to their bookshelf. Families, seniors and so many more were seen at the event, which Ramey accredited to the fact that reading connects everyone’s background.
“That just continues to show that reading really is just like the backbone of everything that we do,” Ramey said.
English sophomore Katie Wagner left the Book Bazaar with 22 books. She went with Ramey, the two hearing about the event through social media. Since she went on the first day, she said that she was even able to find some brand new books. To help her carry almost two dozen books, she said the people working the event were extremely accommodating and even brought her a box.
Wagner said that beyond just being able to purchase books, the Book Bazaar exposed her to more information about the LSU Libraries and other resources that can be found right on campus.
“As an English major, I think reading is a really important thing, and so to be able to have affordable books is so important to get people to be excited about reading,” Wagner said.
Now that the Book Bazaar is over, it is time to start donating books to supply next year’s event. The Friends of the LSU Libraries donation barn can be found at 3555 River Rd, Baton Rouge, LA. For more information on how to get involved with the Friends, check out their brochure here.
