Friends of Morris take active role
October 2, 2002
Cairo, ‘Honest Abe’ book sale planned
Friends of Morris Library are taking a trip to Cairo to observe the rivers Lewis and Clark mapped 200 years ago, visit Victorian homes, and view the historic library.
The Nov. 2 trip to Cairo is just one of the many activities the library has planned this year. In taking a more active role in activities, the friends said they hope to promote Morris by emphasizing fun and excitement when participating in Morris events.
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A few up-and-coming events for this year include an Honest Abe book sale and give-a-ways at the Homecoming tent.
David Koch, associate dean of special collections and research center, helped with the planning of the trip and said he thinks the trip will be a good experience for people to understand Cairo’s historic significance.
“We think that Cairo is very interesting historically and most people have not had an opportunity to see the really important things down there,” he said. “Everybody hears about other challenges it is facing right now; they don’t realize the heritage it has and still maintains.”
Cristy Stupegia, constituency development officer, said that in addition to Saluki Pride bags to put free mementos inside, the Friends of Morris will inform people of the planned activities.
“They’ll be promoting the Cairo trip as well as letting people know that the continuous book store is coming,” she said. “We also do have some [pins] that we will be giving out to alumni and the folks coming through the tent that say ‘Saluki Pride @ your library,’ and this something folks can wear either at Homecoming or any time they go to a sporting event to support SIU.”
According to Stupegia, the promotional campaign was created by the same company that created the “Got Milk?” campaign. She said members hope having “Saluki Pride” in the motto will boost University spirit.
The ‘Honest Abe’ continuous book sale may be unveiled later this month and will feature books from all genres for low prices. The program is new to Morris and will most likely feature a locked box with a slot for buyers to pay for the items. Stupegia said that the reason the sale is called “Honest Abe” is because it is an “on your honor system” without supervision to ensure payment.
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“‘Honest Abe’ is acting as a promotional piece for the Friends,” said Stupegia. “It will be a real good way for folks to build up their home library.”
Stupegia added that the activities the Friends have planned include a big book sale in the spring and a possible listserv web site to help inform those interested about scheduled events.
Reporter Ben Botkin can be reached at [email protected]
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