The popular biennial UQ Alumni Book Fair has raised almost $100,000 including $15,000 from the signature rare book auction.
Approximately 150,000 books, magazines, CDs and sheets of music were available at the April event, which was held at the UQ Centre, St Lucia.
President of the Alumni Friends of the University of Queensland Inc Patricia Jones said more than 40 volunteers pitched in to ensure the fair was a huge success.
“On the first day we had three cash registers and three EFTPOS machines running all day,” Ms Jones said.
Held every two years, the event aims to raise funds for student scholarships, University projects, and to bring alumni and members of the general public to UQ’s campus.
The fair offers everything from art to zoology titles, textbooks and novels, with organisers and volunteers collecting and sorting titles immediately after the 2009 sale.
Bringing in the highest bid from the rare book auction this year was an atlas of engravings which fetched an impressive $3000.
UQ Alumni and Friends are already accepting donations for the 2013 book fair and encourage members of the community to donate spare titles.
“We never have enough classics and ancient history. Those tables get cleaned out usually on the first day and this year was no exception,” Ms Jones said.
Hard cover books, novels, DIY titles and children’s books were also high sellers.
Schools, organisations, and the public can drop off contributions to the Alumni Friends office at 50 Walcott Street, St Lucia at any time.
If items are not suitable for the book fair, the organisers donate the materials to a number of charities including the Red Cross, St Luke’s Anglican Church and Mission to Seafarers.
Media: Patricia Jones (07 3365 1562, alumni@uq.edu.au) or Allison Rock at UQ Communications (a.rock1@uq.edu.au or 07 3365 2619)
