About the YMCA Bookfair

35th Annual YMCA Bookfair

August 16 - August 21, 2013
Kennedy Recreation Center
6050 Wells Road, St. Louis, MO, 63128
Near Meramec Bottom Road & I-55,
10 miles south of Historic Carondelet YMCA building.

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Bookfair Mission

The YMCA Bookfair is a collaborative project of the YMCA. It includes several YMCA organizations & community volunteers that are dedicated to assisting the YMCA in their mission, in particular their Youth Programs and the YMCA Literacy Programs. Among its efforts to this end is the YMCA Bookfair, which provides a large selection of new and quality used books at reasonable prices.

Volunteers are Needed!

The YMCA Bookfair is an event that you have to see to believe. It takes some 400 volunteers and nearly 8,000 volunteer hours to pull off one of our region's most notable bookfairs - the annual YMCA Bookfair. This year we need help with:

Book sorting March 15 through August 1 at the Historic Carondelet YMCA at 600 Loughborough
Book collections and delivery from local YMCA barrels near you
Bookfair set-up and take down August 13 - August 22 at the Kennedy Recreation Center
Book collections and delivery from local YMCA barrels near you, March 1 through August 1
Marketing and promotion, March 1 through August 23!

Please contact bookfair@ymcastlouis.org, Debbie Redmond at dredmond@ymcastlouis.org or Maribeth Mees at 314.685.3800 ext. 216 to volunteer for the bookfair.
We will need Volunteers August 14th - August 23rd.

Volunteer Pricing and Sorting Hours

We are currently Pricing and Sorting at the Historic Carondelet YMCA at 600 Loughbourough.
We need volunteers! Please contact Debbie Redmond at dredmond@ymcastlouis.org for more information. If you arrive to volunteer, please let a current volunteer know, fill out a Volunteer form and we will pair you with a trainer to learn the Bookfair ropes!

- Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 5:30pm - 9:00pm
- Wednesday & Friday mornings 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Saturdays from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm - TO BE ANNOUNCED

Closed April 6th - April 8th in observance of Easter Holiday
Closed May 26th - May 28th in observance of Memorial Day Holiday
Closed July 3- 4th in observance of 4th of July Holiday

Book Donations Accepted March - July 31

You can donate books to the Historic Carondelet YMCA through July 31 during the above Pricing and Sorting Hours.

Historic Carondelet YMCA
600 Loughborough, St. Louis MO 63111

If you have large donations, we prefer that you drop these off at the Historic Carondelet YMCA Location. You can also donate to your local YMCA if they have a blue YMCA Bookfair barrel in their lobby!

Book Donations will also be accepted March - July 31 at participating branches of the YMCA of Greater St. Louis. You will find blue collections barrels in the lobby or foyer of each YMCA branch. If possible, please donate books to participating YMCA branches in small boxes.

What we accept:

Fiction and Non-Fiction Books
Children's Books
Text Books
Specialty magazines (Auto, Gardening, Cookins, Hobbies/Crafts)
Records, 8mm, CDs, VHS tapes and DVDs

We do not accept:

Encyclopedia Sets
National Geographic & Readers Digest Condensed sets

Bookfair History

2013celebrates the 35th anniversary of the YMCA Bookfair. Started in 1978 by a group of dedicated YMCA volunteers who raised several hundred dollars for the YMCA by holding a small, one-day bookfair in the gymnasium. The YMCA Bookfair has now grown into a six day event. So far, the YMCA Bookfair has raised over $1.5 million for the YMCA and our outreach programs.

34th Annual Bookfair Schedule

First Selection Night
Friday, August 16
4:00 pm - 10:00pm
$10 admission
• 5:00 am- Park opens. Before 5am, park is patrolled by St. Louis County Police.
• 8:00 am - Ticket Sales begin at the Kennedy Recreation Complex (facility will open for use of restrooms).
Tickets are sold throughout the day until close.
• 4:00 pm- Doors open for $10 Preview Night. You will enter based on your numbered ticket.

Answers to FAQs:

We charge $10 admission on Preview Night for adults (12 and under are free).
The tickets are numbered and represent your place in line for the 4:00 pm opening.
A person can buy 4 tickets at a time.
You do not need to stay in line after you purchase a ticket.
You can return to the KRC before 4:00 pm to find your numbered place in line.
NO overnight camping in the park. Park is patroled by St. Louis County Police.
You can check-out multiple times.
Y volunteers are not responsbile for your belongings or books you plan to purchase.
No scanning allowed in stadium seating/bleachers.
Please be respectful of walkways and keep them clear.

Free Admission
Saturday, August 17 - Wednesday, August 21
9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Half Price Day
Tuesday, August 20
9:00 am - 9:00 pm

$10 a Box Day
Wednesday, August 21
9:00 am -9:00 pm

Parking and Saturday CCBF Shuttle Service

The Kennedy Recreation Center has 270 parking spaces. Shuttle Service provided by the CCBF will be available from the front circle drive at the Carondelet Park Rec Complex at 930 Holly Hills, St. Louis, MO 63111 on Saturday, August 17. Shuttle will leave 930 Holly Hills every hour beginning at 9:00 am. Shuttle will leave the Kennedy Recreation Center every half hour, last shuttle leaving at 3:30 pm.