The Tucson chapter of Brandeis National Committee will hold its annual book sale at the Foothills Mall from Jan. 13 to 22. The sale will feature more than 50,000 books, including collectibles and first editions.
“Someone said it takes a village,” says Meg Sivitz, Brandeis book sale chair, “but it takes our community to send a student to college.”
It was the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, she says, “that gave us the funds to build a bin, to collect the books, to cart to the sale, to raise the funds, to endow a scholarship, to send a young student to Brandeis.”
The estate of University of Arizona humanities professor Gene Koppel donated 600 of his books on English literature for the sale. Koppel wrote “The Religious Dimensions of Jane Austen” and published a series of interviews with Isaac Bashevis Singer and Elie Wiesel. Following a 35-year career at the UA, and thanks to his wife, Betty Koppel, his books will now be shared with others.
The estate of Arthur Block, a religious scholar, donated his collection of Jewish literature and philosophy to support the Tucson BNC. The collection also included many books on art history and travel, which were his passions, says Sivitz.
The late Gerald Zatuchni, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, was a prolific artist whose colorful paintings adorned his Tucson home. His wife, Bette, donated many of their collectible art books for the sale.
All of the contributors appreciated that the sale of their books would benefit a Tucson student in need of financial aid who was accepted to Brandeis.
A special pre-sale will be held Jan. 12, from 5 to 9 p.m., with a $10 donation to BNC. Admission Jan. 13 to 22 is free during regular mall hours. For more information, call 747-3224 or 615-4379, or go to bncbookfair.com.
