“Carpe Diem” might sound familiar if you took a high school Latin class, but “Carpe Librum” is the new saying gaining traction around Foggy Bottom.
“Carpe Librum,” Latin for “seize the book,” is a used bookstore that opened on campus a few weeks ago to raise money for programs in D.C. public schools. The store, which is only open until May 16, is using space next to Johnny Rocket’s Restaurant donated by The Shops at 2000 Penn.
“The money we raise here goes to our programs in the six elementary schools we are working with right now,” said Kathleen Rice, development manager for Turning the Page, which manages Carpe Librum’s sales. “It creates parent teacher associations, supports education and provides resources for teachers and parents.”
Staffed by Americorps members, Carpe Librum’s month-long business venture is Turning the Page’s seventh annual book sale.
“It’s a great cause,” volunteer Fran Atkinson said. “They’ve done an excellent job organizing this sale every year.”
Atkinson, a resident of Northeast D.C., said this is her second year volunteering at a Turning the Page bookstore.
“I usually just sort the romance section,” she said. “That’s my kind of thing.”
Atkinson is just one of hundreds of volunteers who donate their time and used books to the charity, said Laura Smail, Turning the Page’s volunteer coordinator.
“We have many great people come in,” Smail said. “But we’re always looking for more. We’re trying to work with the federal work-study program at GW to help staff satellite sales in other parts of D.C.”
Jen Perry and Emma Martin, sophomores and founders of GW’s Turning the Page chapter, are two students helping to advertise the book sale around campus.
The drive is typically not held at GW but the space was free and it helped make the group more accessible to the student body, Perry said.
GW’s chapter of Turning the Page organized this past semester. It has about a dozen members – most of whom help by advertising on campus and volunteering at school programs.
Many of the GW members spent two weeks helping sort books for this drive and some are helping by working as cashiers, Martin said.
Smail said the location was an improvement over earlier years and that the bookstore has had a steady amount of traffic since it opened in early April.
“We’ve seen lots of GW students and professors come through our door,” she said. “We are also seeing businessmen and women on their lunch break during the weekdays.”
There are more than 100,000 books for sale that range from glossy coffee table books and books-on-tape to gently worn romance novels and old library books published in the early 1950s. Despite many of the books’ almost-new quality, most are on sale for $1 to $4.
Jonathan Cormier, an Alexandria, Va., resident, said he didn’t realize the bookstore was a charity.
“I was just excited to see a new used bookstore,” Cormier said. “Many of them struggle to stay open in D.C., and it’s a shame because they are such a bargain.”
Rachel Matherson, a 32-year-old D.C. resident, had a bag full of recipe books and a Maya Angelou novel as she left the store.
“Knowing the proceeds support the public schools is a great feeling,” Matherson said. “I’ll definitely be back for more.”
Sarah Biggart contributed to this report.
