Literacy Austin's Bookfest
Fri., June 18, 1999
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Mystery, science fiction, humor, travel, sports, fiction, true crime, poetry, fantasy -- typical signage in a bookstore, but atypical for a storefront in Northcross Mall that used to be The Limited and this weekend will become a two-day bookstore. For the past two months, the volunteers and staff of Literacy Austin have been transforming a space at Northcross Mall from mere storefront to temporary bookstore for their 10th annual BookFest, which every year brings in approximately 25% of Literacy Austin's operating budget. That means two months of carting in all the materials that make a bookstore, all of which have been donated, including the store space, advertising, the booksellers (Literacy Austin volunteers), the 197 bookshelves, and the books -- all 80,000 of them. Belinda Flores, the executive director of Literacy Austin, says that the BookFest is necessary for a unique reason: It brings in "unrestricted dollars," which means that BookFest revenue pays for items such as rent and light bulbs and salaries. Perhaps that's an unglamorous allocation of the money BookFest customers will spend this weekend, but when you consider that Literacy Austin has determined that one in six adults in Austin read at the lowest level of literacy and that Literacy Austin does not charge for its services, any funds that help to keep the doors open are welcome funds indeed. --Clay Smith
Literacy Austin's BookFest takes place at Northcross Mall (2525 W. Anderson Lane), suite 520 (adjacent to Northcross 6 Theatre) on Saturday, June 19, 9am-9pm, and Sunday, June 20, noon-6pm. Call 478-7323 for more information or to ask about becoming a Literacy Austin volunteer.
