Fall and/or Spring Book Fair dates can be booked through Scholastic. There is a bonus incentive in Scholastic dollars for conducting a second Book Fair during the year if you choose to do so. We have opted to concentrate only a Fall Book Fair the last couple of years and set the date during the Band Concert week in November so we have an evening event opportunity. (Ideally, run the fair during Monday through Thursday of that week.)
Scholastic runs the training (e.g., Webinars) and set-up for the chairperson over their website (you will be emailed a link to the online Toolkit) and it is comprehensive and easy to follow. The Book Fair chairperson will be assigned a consultant at Scholastic who can be contacted by email or phone. This person is very knowledgeable and quick to respond to any questions.
About a month before the Fair, the chairperson will receive a box (sent to ADL school) with the Book Fair Kit. This kit includes information on the current theme, useful ideas for promotion and set up, posters, etc. This is a good time to get together with co-coordinator(s) and do some planning. Ideas from previous years include ...
Make sure you set a goal. You can choose whatever you like (e.g. dollar amount in sales, # of books sold), but a good one is to make $2,000 or more in sales as this is the minimum that permits the option of taking any of your profits as cash for Parents as Partners (as opposed to Scholastic dollars profits, which are redeemable only for Scholastic merchandise).
ADL Peer Leadership can help promote and assist with the Book Fair in several ways:
There is a standard middle school inventory that will be sent to the school, but you may opt to add on some extras like younger books if there is a family event planned. You will be informed of the approx. date of arrival of the Fair at ADL and it is usually the Friday before the Fair starts. We store the bookshelves and other inventory in the Tech-Ed room until the first day of the Fair, then each day it is packed away but stays in the foyer for quick set-up again the following morning. At the end of the last day of the Book Fair, make sure everything is packed back in the appropriate boxes (include empty boxes) for pick-up.
The truck tends to arrive very early on the day of pick-up. The cash drawer and scanner machine are picked up, too, so make sure you run all the reports you need on the last evening.
The cash drawer and scanner come with easy instructions and it makes checkout during the Fair and running daily and overall reports convenient. Purchases can be made by credit card, check, cash or purchase order. Purchases can also be made using Scholastic dollars that you already have on your account or using “One-for-Books” contributions. This is useful for providing prize books or fulfilling a donation request to a teacher’s classroom.
Barb Edwards will cut a $100 check for start-up float money. Use this to pick up a variety of small bills and change at the bank (pennies go fast due to books priced with .99 endings).
Credit card transactions will result in a receipt for the customer and one for your cash drawer. These receipts are for your reference only and do NOT need to be submitted to Scholastic. Cash out each day and store the day’s takings in the office safe. Pack away the cash drawer with float money for next day and the scanner in the office. Pack up all bookshelves, re-box table displays and cover everything at the end of the day. After the Book Fair, consolidate takings and reports. Get coin rolls and bill wrappers along with a summary tally sheet from Barb Edwards and then return everything to her for deposit of cash and checks at the bank. Barb will bank all the takings and cut the check for Scholastic. Complete the financials online via the Scholastic Toolkit.
Note on discounts (e.g. teacher discounts). Discounts can be given at the discretion of the chairperson, but these are NOT honored by Scholastic. This means that the difference between the regular price and the discounted price must be financed from the Book Fair profits. If you offer discounts, your financials cannot be completed exclusively online, but you must call the financial hotline number and go over your numbers with someone on the phone. Then submit the paperwork by mail to Scholastic.
Sales are TAX FREE at the Book Fair. There is an ADL tax exempt form that should be submitted with the financials at the end of the Fair. (Get one from Barb Edwards if the previous chairperson did not pass one on to you.)
If you sell-out quickly of a very popular book, you can re-order by emailing or calling before noon and the books will arrive within 48 hours (details are provided in the paperwork that comes with the initial inventory). This is only useful if the Fair has more than one day left to go, otherwise the books will not arrive before the end of your Fair.
Volunteers are essential for a successful Book Fair. Try to get all-day coverage if you can, so the Fair can be open for business from 7:30am-3:30pm each day. There are quiet periods during the day, but all-day opening does lead to increased sales, and offers flexibility for teacher/class preview times. It is best to have 2-3 people present for set up and before school opening (7:00-8:00am) and for after school/pack-up (2:30-3:30pm). At these very busy times, people are needed to cover the checkout and monitor the books and novelty items for loss prevention.