Jeffery Amherst Bookshop is among the downtown stores where patrons can enjoy a 20% discount off of one item that day, as part of the annual holiday gift card promotion. And as an extra bonus, 10% of the day’s purchases will be donated to the Jones Library.
The store has been using the first Saturday in December as a fundraiser for the library for 10 or 15 years, said manager Marie Dunford.
“It ties in with Card Day, so people are already in town shopping,” she said. “This gives them one more reason to come here.”
Dunford wasn’t sure how much the store has donated in the past, but said that over the years, it’s really added up. And she said that the dual incentives of Card Day and the library benefit make that Saturday “typically our biggest day of the year.”
The library is grateful for the support. Library Director Bonnie Isman praised the store for initiating and continuing this donation tradition.
“It is a wonderful example of how the library is really connected to downtown,” said Isman.
Isman said the money supports public educational and outreach programming, the purchase of new books and magazine subscriptions, special equipment needs, and all the many ways the Friends of the Jones Library serves children and families throughout the Town library system.
A couple of years ago, when UMass was facing particularly bad budget problems, Jeffery Amherst Bookshop also began donating 10% of one day’s sales to its library, and that has been successful as well. This year’s UMass day will be the following Saturday, December 9th.
The book store is located at 55 South Pleasant Street, facing the Common. It will be open Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information, contact the store at jeffamhbk@aol.com or by phone at 253-3381.
-- Stephanie O'Keeffe
