Book Bazaar Raises $11,000 for Leland Speed Library

A record of $11,000 was collected at Mississippi College’s third annual book bazaar to benefit the Leland Speed Library.

“We are just thrilled,” said library director Kathleen Hutchison as the final tally from the weekend book sale came in Monday. “We had such a good response from faculty, staff and students.”

At least 800 folks walked through the door at Alumni Gym and that included many parents on the Clinton campus for Family Weekend.

After the doors first opened Friday morning to MC faculty and staff, there was “no elbow room” as scores of students showed up looking for bargains, Hutchison said. The two-day event also opened to parents, and residents of the metro Jackson area.

The book bazaar concluded Saturday amid a sea of parents converging on the Clinton campus from around the South for Family Weekend.

 Money raised over the weekend doubled the amount raised last fall, Hutchison said.

Funds generated will enhance MC library resources and services. The book sale also featured a silent auction, including such items as a full leather bound Encyclopedia Britannica set from the 1870s, a classic Elvis Presley album and books signed by novelist John Grisham.

Hutchison thanked the Friends of the Leland Speed Library, teams of library volunteers and the physical plant staff for their assistance to make the event a success.

Next up, 1993 MC communication graduate Barbie Bassett, the chief meteorologist at WLBT-TV 3, will sign copies of her new book during a lunch and reception at the library along College Street. The event on Friday October 15 will be part of MC’s Homecoming Weekend. Bassett’s book is titled “Forecasts and Faith: Five Keys to Weathering the Storms of Life.” The event begins at noon in the library’s lobby.