Brisbane's bibliophiles will be hunting for bargains when UQ’s Alumni Book Fair starts this weekend.
Taking place over five days at the UQ Centre, the biennial event is expected to attract thousands of book lovers and raise over $100,000 for a number of worthwhile causes.
Organiser Feona Walker said the fair would be preceded by the popular rare book auction on Friday evening.
“This year we received a large, wonderful and valuable donation which included a number of 19th and early 20th century books on Egypt,” Ms Walker said.
“There is also a great limited edition facsimile of Aubrey Beardsley’s Lysistrata of Aristophanes as well as a 1988 edition of The Complete Etchings of Norman Lindsay.”
Ms Walker said the book fair was different from others as extra care was taken to sort all items into their specific genre or subject for easy browsing, with a morning session on Sunday open exclusively for people with disabilities.
“We also do not have book dealers or anyone else previewing the sale or being involved during the year so all comers have the same opportunity to get a bargain,” she said.
A dedicated team of volunteers – many of them UQ graduates – have taken two years to collect and expertly catalogue the tens of thousands of items on sale at this year’s event, which include magazines, sheet music, CDs, videos and DVDs.
“The Book Fair is run entirely by the regular volunteers, their friends, relatives and other people who come just to help,” Ms Walker said.
“We have about 40 regulars who work over the two years, and about 100 who help at the Book Fair itself.”
The fair is the major fundraiser of the Alumni Association of the University of Queensland, which has given over $6 million to community projects ranging from providing electric chairs for the disabled, to supporting the Fryer Library, the University Art Gallery and student scholarships.
The fair runs from the 21st to the 25th of April between 11am-5pm (opening at noon on Anzac Day), with the rare book auction taking place at the Women’s College on Friday, April 20 at 6.30pm.
Those wanting to volunteer time or donate books are welcome to contact Ms Walker on 07 3365 2263 on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
For further information, visit the association’s website.
Media: Feona Walker (0408 150 145) or Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)
