Welcome to information about the Hyde Park Co-op Used Book Sale
A project this year of Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference
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Welcome to information about the Hyde Park Co-op Used Book Sale A project this year of Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference |
See explanatory
handout, below. To printable
view. To a flyer. From the
August 2007 Reporter.
Coverage. Update September. Record
number of books/more about the sale.
Thanks
to all for a most successful Conference-run Hyde Park Co-op Used Book Sale--run
by the Conference, not the Co-Op or the shopping center, October 6-8 2007.
Yes, there will be another in October 2008, 11, 12 and 13. Arrangements are
already being made. Name is tentatively Hyde Park Used Book Sale. Coordinator
for 2008 will be Jane Ciacci,
773 419-1384, co'd by Jane Comiskey.Watch for information abotu where to donate
books and how to volunteer.
Managing the event in 2008 will be Jane Ciacci.
Volunteer coordinator was Jane Comiskey. Her letter of thanks for 2007 in the Herald:
October 24, 2007: To the Editor:
The Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference wants to thank everyone who worked so hard to make the Co-op Book sale a big success: The Co-Op, which encouraged the Conference to sponsor the sale; Rani Fedson, the HPK-CC board member who volunteered to be manager; the friends, students, neighbors, and board members who volunteered to work;and the community who came and bought our treasures.It was hard work; we stated late but collected over 31,000 books and could have accepted more if there had ben rome to store them.
The weather was great--no rain. And we had lots of customers. Thank you for making the Book Sale such a smashing success.
HPKCC Adopts Co-op Used Book Sale
After lengthy discussion and careful analysis of budgets and volunteer hours, HPKCC has reached tentative agreement with the management of the Hyde Park Cooperative Society to “adopt” the Columbus Day weekend used book sale. Proceeds from this year’s sale will go to support programs of the Conference, including WhistleStop, the new Environmental Sustainability Task Force, Preservation and Development, and publicity and advertising.This year’s sale will be held on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, October 6, 7, and 8 at the Hyde Park Shopping Center courtyard. Negotiations are still underway with the Co-op management to determine how book-dropoff's will be managed, but the organizers hope to begin accepting books in the Co-op no later than August 15...
The idea of the Conference hosting the sale was suggested by James Withrow, representing the Co-op Board of Directors. The HPKCC executive committee gave approval to proceed with discussions and negotiations, and the entire HPKCC board of directors approved the commitment on a vote of 17 affirmatives, 2 negatives, 2 abstains.
The Conference will rent space from the Coop (the downstairs video room) to sort and store the books, and will pay for help with moving, loading, and shelving. Watch for future notices—and please bring a huge load of books!
HPKCC steps in to save Co-op book fair. Herald, August 1, 2007. By Nykeya Woods.
Cash-strapped Hyde Park Co-op Market handed over reigns to the neighborhood's annual fall book sale to the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference (HPKC) this week. The Hyde Park Shopping Center courtyard at 55th Street and Lake Pak Avenue will still be the site of the book sale. Books can be dropped off at the store beginning Aug. 15.
"I'm excited and hopeful it will be successful," said HPKCC board member Jane Comiskey. "This is the first big-time fund-raiser we as an organization have ever done." as in previous years, the event il take place Columbus Day weekend.
The weekend event was in limbo all summer, as the Co-op decided in May to stop organizing the event and, over following months, the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club finally declined to pick up the project.
Co-op board member James Withrow said the struggling cooperative, currently without a general manager, just couldn't handle the job any more. "The board felt that we didn't want our managers running it this year or it distracting from their time because they have a grocery store to run and we are still looking for a general manager," Withrow said....
Withrow is happy that there will be a book sale this year, he said. "The book sale is specifically important to me because I'm a big book reader. several friends and I go to as many book sales as we can like this. So it was really important to me that this goes on," Withrow said.
A longstanding event, the book sale draws midwestern buyers from used and rare book stores as well as bibliophiles from all over the country. Owners of an English-only bookstore in P0land have participated in the past.
Comiskey said the event will retain its familiar features. "Nothing will be different," Comiskey said. "It wil be the same and it will be run by the same woman who ran it last year for the Co-op, Rani Fedson."
Those looking to volunteer should call Comiskey at 324-0750.
Hyde Park Herald, September 5, 2007
The Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference (HPKCC) is gearing up for the annual Columbus Day Weekend Book Sale at the Hyde Park Shopping Center, 55th Street and Lake Park Avenue. Last month, HPKCC took over the Columbus Day weekend tradition, which brings in book dealers from across the country.
"Donations have picked up. We had a difficult time at first getting the word out that there really was going to be a sale," said President of HPKCC George Rumsey.
Rumsey said he hopes people will clean out their bookshelves and closets. Donations are being taken in the basement of the Hyde Park Co-op, 1526 E. 55th St. Those with a large quantity of books to donate can arrange for a volunteer to pick them up.
Last year, 30,000 used books were collected for the sale, which take place from Oct. 6to Oc. 8, beginning at 9 a.m. each day and running to 6 p.m.. Rumsey said he hopes the organization collects 20,000 books this year. Rumsey said the book sale needs people to help out during the weekend.
"Now we are really focusing on getting volunteers for the event," said Rumsey. "We need about 25 volunteers for each day of the sale."
The proceeds from this year's sale will support the HPKCC, a community advocacy organization.
Book sale organizers break record. Hyde Park Herald October 3, 2007. By Georgia Geis
Book lovers will have more than 30,000 books to peruse at the annual Hyde Park Co-op [Used] Book Sale this Columbus Day weekend at the Hyde Prk Shopping Center, 55th Street and Lake Park Avenue. This is the first year the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference (HPKCC) has sponsored the neighborhood tradition that draws book buyers from across the country.
"Book collecting went great," said HPKCC president George Rumsey. "We actually ran out of space for the books.
HPKCC volunteers collected a thousand more books than last year's sale, which was no small feat considering they started the campaign six weeks later than the other years. "We really appreciate everyone donating their books," said Rumsey.Books have been sorted into 5o categories from science fiction to cook books; from romance novels to physics textbooks. "They create a new category every time I enter the room," Rumsey laughs.
As the sale progresses, the prices will drop. The first day, serious book collectors get there first thing and buy up boxes. The prices will be somewhat cheaper on Sunday and by Monday, there will be many bargains because everything must go by closing at 4 p.m. The leftover books are donated to different non-profit organizations, including one group who sends the books to Ghana, africa. Non-profit organizations interested in acquiring some of the leftover books can contact HPKCC. Volunteers are still needed to help out at the event, according to Rumsey.
When asked if HPKCC would continue to sponsor the book sale, Rumsey said he hopes they can. "It remains to be seen," said Rumsey. ...