(Thanks to Christa from primo Atlanta blog pecannelog for the heads-up. I've cut and pasted the Georgia Historical Society's email below.)
Georgia Historical Society Book Sale in Jeopardy!
The Georgia Historical Society needs your used books for its Annual Book Sale to be held April 23-24, 2010. Based on the current level of donations, this year's sale will be cancelled due to the low volume of books. Clean out your closets and clear away your clutter to support this annual fund-raising event!
This popular annual event raises greatly-needed funds for GHS's library and archives. Faced with more budget cuts from the State, the revenue from the Book Sale is needed more than ever. Proceeds from the sale are used to purchase new library materials and to care for the oldest collection of Georgia history in existence.
Donations, of all sizes, can include rare and non-rare: fiction, poetry, children's, and all non-fiction subjects including history, biography, current events, how-to, religion, business, self-help, cooking, gardening, etc.
Magazines/journals, obsolete audio/video, and games donations will not be accepted.
Donations to the Book Sale are tax deductible. For more information or to volunteer, contact GHS at 912-651-2128 or email us at library@georgiahistory.com.
The Georgia Historical Society, headquartered in Savannah with offices in Atlanta and Affiliate Chapters in 80 counties, is the oldest cultural institution in the state and one of the oldest historical organizations in the nation. It is the first and only statewide historical society in Georgia. For nearly 175 years, GHS has collected, preserved, and shared Georgia and American history through a variety of educational outreach programs, publications, and research services. For more information visit: www.georgiahistory.com.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
We Are Athens (Buy Local Athens) update (& more links than you'll know what to do with!)
I've mentioned the Buy Local Athens initiative a couple of times on this blog (here and here, for example) but haven't given too much away yet, as we're hoping to stage a fun launch event where we'll spill all the beans. So many people (Athens residents, business owners, and more) are interested in being a part of the movement--it's quite inspiring, and we on the board are happy to be working for such a great cause. For now I'll encourage you to visit our Facebook page and become a fan there. Once our website is ready to launch, believe you me: you'll hear about it on this blog, on Facebook, in the local newspapers, and more!
Let me outline a few details about the project so far, just to let you get your bearings.
1. After toying with several ideas, we the board voted on the name We Are Athens. (Special thanks to Alicia Nickles of Flagpole Magazine, Satisfactory Printing, and others for that idea.)
2. We established a Facebook page not long ago and have already surpassed ONE THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED FANS. As I suggested above, the response has been phenomenal.
3. We're gathering funds so we can formally affiliate with the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and become an independent business alliance.
4. Once we affiliate with AMIBA, we'll register our organization as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Once we're registered as a nonprofit with the state of Georgia and once we have formally announced the project, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals will be able to become members of We Are Athens.
5. And once we're off the ground, we'll be able to provide lots of services to the community. Later we'll make a formal announcement of the ways in which We Are Athens aims to help Athens, but you can expect to see a directory of locally-owned businesses, resources for buying locally, lists of benefits for buying locally, and some members-only perks (to name just a few things!).
Now let me introduce to you the Buy Local Athens/We Are Athens Board.
Officers:
Catrina Cook (J House Media), Chair
Angi Harben (Classic Center), Co-Chair
Janet Geddis (Avid Bookshop), Secretary
Fausto Sarmiento (Banco de la Oportunidad/First American Bank & Trust), Treasurer
Chris Blackmon (ATLAS Real Estate Advisors) and Sam Drennen (First American Bank & Trust), Planning Committee
Alicia Nickles (Flagpole), Marketing Chair
Candice Courcey (Urban Sanctuary Day Spa), Membership Chair
Whether or not you're in Athens, I encourage you to look around and discover (or rediscover) the true gems of your town: locally-owned, independent businesses that enhance your community.
If you're new to the "buy local" movement, look around at these resources that explain the ways your community can be enhanced through a focus on local businesses:
Good place to start: Why Buy Local?
"New Study Shows Power of "Buy Local" campaigns
IndieBound.org
Chris Wyrick's article in the ABH about why buying local makes sense
Buying Local is a Growing Trend (Bookselling This Week article)
Our Buy Local Book Club is getting some good attention. Please consider stopping by! The book we chose is really great, but if you can't get your hands on a copy before the meeting, that's okay--we'll be able to have a good conversation all the same. I hope you'll join us.
Have a lovely (snowy) day!
Let me outline a few details about the project so far, just to let you get your bearings.
1. After toying with several ideas, we the board voted on the name We Are Athens. (Special thanks to Alicia Nickles of Flagpole Magazine, Satisfactory Printing, and others for that idea.)
2. We established a Facebook page not long ago and have already surpassed ONE THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED FANS. As I suggested above, the response has been phenomenal.
3. We're gathering funds so we can formally affiliate with the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and become an independent business alliance.
4. Once we affiliate with AMIBA, we'll register our organization as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Once we're registered as a nonprofit with the state of Georgia and once we have formally announced the project, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals will be able to become members of We Are Athens.
5. And once we're off the ground, we'll be able to provide lots of services to the community. Later we'll make a formal announcement of the ways in which We Are Athens aims to help Athens, but you can expect to see a directory of locally-owned businesses, resources for buying locally, lists of benefits for buying locally, and some members-only perks (to name just a few things!).
Now let me introduce to you the Buy Local Athens/We Are Athens Board.
Officers:
Catrina Cook (J House Media), Chair
Angi Harben (Classic Center), Co-Chair
Janet Geddis (Avid Bookshop), Secretary
Fausto Sarmiento (Banco de la Oportunidad/First American Bank & Trust), Treasurer
Chris Blackmon (ATLAS Real Estate Advisors) and Sam Drennen (First American Bank & Trust), Planning Committee
Alicia Nickles (Flagpole), Marketing Chair
Candice Courcey (Urban Sanctuary Day Spa), Membership Chair
Whether or not you're in Athens, I encourage you to look around and discover (or rediscover) the true gems of your town: locally-owned, independent businesses that enhance your community.
If you're new to the "buy local" movement, look around at these resources that explain the ways your community can be enhanced through a focus on local businesses:
Good place to start: Why Buy Local?
"New Study Shows Power of "Buy Local" campaigns
IndieBound.org
Chris Wyrick's article in the ABH about why buying local makes sense
Buying Local is a Growing Trend (Bookselling This Week article)
Our Buy Local Book Club is getting some good attention. Please consider stopping by! The book we chose is really great, but if you can't get your hands on a copy before the meeting, that's okay--we'll be able to have a good conversation all the same. I hope you'll join us.
Have a lovely (snowy) day!
Monday, March 1, 2010
the grant that almost was...
For quite awhile now, I've been gearing up to submit a grant application to Pepsi's Refresh Everything program. To make a long story short, Pepsi is giving away lots of monthly grants in various amounts (smallest grant is $5,000; biggest one is $250,000). I was pretty proud of the application I put together, complete with my second-ever iMovie.
12:01 AM EST today, March 1st, the voting opened. And I could not log in correctly. I kept getting a welcome screen for a 50-year-old named Stacey. (I'm not Stacey, and I'm not 50. I'm Janet, and I'm 30.) When they finally did recognize me as Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop, they had no application on file for me. Frustrating to say the least!
As of 12:22 AM, 1000 ideas had been submitted and the submission process was closed. Alas. Sorry, Avid wallet.
It's not much of a consolation to know that hundreds of others had similar difficulties. I applaud Pepsi's willingness to donate grant money to causes that will effect positive change in the world, but I do wish they'd anticipated the turnout a bit more and been able to handle the traffic.
Because you are an Avid blog reader, you get to watch the video that was part of my seemingly lost application! Lucky, lucky you.
I can't embed the video because it's wide-screen, so click here to view it.
12:01 AM EST today, March 1st, the voting opened. And I could not log in correctly. I kept getting a welcome screen for a 50-year-old named Stacey. (I'm not Stacey, and I'm not 50. I'm Janet, and I'm 30.) When they finally did recognize me as Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop, they had no application on file for me. Frustrating to say the least!
As of 12:22 AM, 1000 ideas had been submitted and the submission process was closed. Alas. Sorry, Avid wallet.
It's not much of a consolation to know that hundreds of others had similar difficulties. I applaud Pepsi's willingness to donate grant money to causes that will effect positive change in the world, but I do wish they'd anticipated the turnout a bit more and been able to handle the traffic.
Because you are an Avid blog reader, you get to watch the video that was part of my seemingly lost application! Lucky, lucky you.
I can't embed the video because it's wide-screen, so click here to view it.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Photo show & informal Avid fundraiser this Monday, Feb. 1st
DONATIONS* will be gratefully accepted whether or not you choose to buy a photograph. I'm currently saving up some money so that I may open an online store that will allow customers worldwide to have access to over 1.1 million titles. It is my hope that money I make from this photo show will allow me to establish the full-service Avid website sooner than later. (We'll keep our already-established book inventory through Biblio.com as well.)
On Facebook? RSVP here!
Thank you, and please spread the word if you feel so inclined!
*Avid Bookshop is not a certified 501(c)3 nonprofit, so donations made to the bookstore cannot be used as tax write-offs. All donations will be given and gratefully accepted in good faith to support this community-focused center.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Inaugural Buy Local Athens book club book chosen!
The results are in! For our first-ever Buy Local Athens book club, we'll be reading The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper. Athens-Clarke County Library's website shows 10 copies available in Georgia, none checked out. (You can put any of these ten copies on hold and they'll be sent to our local branch within days!) If you'd like to own a copy of the book, use Indiebound.org to find an independent bookstore to buy it from. We'll meet in mid-March 2010--details on when and where exactly will be forthcoming.
Friday, January 15, 2010
We're on Facebook!
Most of you already know this, but I'll say it here for good measure: Avid now has a Facebook fan page! Please consider becoming a fan, and if your business has a Facebook page, please spread the word so that I may check it out!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Buy Local Book Club
As some of you already know, some of us Athenians are working together to create an Athens Buy Local initiative. Our Facebook page already has well over one thousand fans, which bodes very well for our city's future. There will be a formal launch of the program this year. As a new small business owner (and child of parents who've had a small business for over 30 years), it's both invigorating and heartwarming to see so much support for our independent-minded, eclectic community.
Recently I posted a link (on Facebook) to the American Booksellers Association's Indie Local First Reading List, a collection of books about "making and keeping local communities vibrant." I asked fans of Avid Bookshop and fans of Buy Local Athens if they'd be interested in participating in a book club focused on buying and sourcing locally. The response was immediate and strong, so here I am to share with you a few books for us to choose from. Vote below in the comments section or via email. (I'm sure there'll be some debate and discussion on the Buy Local Facebook page and the Avid Bookshop Facebook page as well. Worry not--I'll find a way to combine all this feedback in order to pick the book most people wanted to read.)
We'll plan to meet in mid-March to discuss the book together at some locally-owned, independent business (to be chosen later).
Here are three books to choose from. Click on the titles for more information, courtesy of Indiebound.org. Let me know which one you're most interested in! Voting deadline is Friday, January 15th.
1. The Better World Handbook (2007 edition) by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson
2. The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper and Benjamin Fried
3. Deep Economy: The Wealth of Economies and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben
Recently I posted a link (on Facebook) to the American Booksellers Association's Indie Local First Reading List, a collection of books about "making and keeping local communities vibrant." I asked fans of Avid Bookshop and fans of Buy Local Athens if they'd be interested in participating in a book club focused on buying and sourcing locally. The response was immediate and strong, so here I am to share with you a few books for us to choose from. Vote below in the comments section or via email. (I'm sure there'll be some debate and discussion on the Buy Local Facebook page and the Avid Bookshop Facebook page as well. Worry not--I'll find a way to combine all this feedback in order to pick the book most people wanted to read.)
We'll plan to meet in mid-March to discuss the book together at some locally-owned, independent business (to be chosen later).
1. The Better World Handbook (2007 edition) by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson
2. The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper and Benjamin Fried
3. Deep Economy: The Wealth of Economies and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben
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