Library Lady

Our book fair arrived on the Thursday before the fair was scheduled to start. This was our first year using I55 Fundraising and we are very pleased. They provide materials from Christian as well as secular publishers.

Each box was labeled with the type of books in the box: board books, early readers, independent readers, science/sports, history/biography, etc. This labeling really helped our set up process. I labeled my tables and my middle school volunteers could easily tell where the boxes needed to go and could unpack them for me after they were moved. No inventory was necessary when we unpacked which cut our set up time by several hours.

There were a few titles I had to pull due to content not consistent with our standards as a Christian school but that was a very small amount compared to the amount of product we received. I55 Fundraising also sent us a cash register which, when connected to our wifi, was able to take credit cards and send reports on our sales directly to the company.

The wide variety of both fiction and non-fiction titles in addition to the novelties were very appealing to our students, faculty, and parents. Our income improved about 30% over our last book fair.

The reason for scheduling the fair when we did, is our annual Grandparents Day. Grandparents LOVE to purchase for their children which also helps our sales. I also allow each elementary teacher to create a “wish basket.” The library does this as well. Often parents and grandparents will pick a book from the basket and donate it to the classroom or library in honor of their child. It is a great way to increase sales and help our the libraries on campus.

Pack up on Friday was just as easy as unpacking was. My middle school volunteers along with a few adults, packed the books back in the appropriate boxes. We sealed them up and they are awaiting pick up early this week from a freight company.

I highly recommend I55 Fundraising if you are looking for a company to provide book fairs.