SwapSF Presents: San Francisco Book Swap At The Phritzery, Saturday, May 12, 2007

San Francisco, April 16th, 2007—After having read somewhere that San Francisco leads the nation in consumption of both literature and alcohol, SwapSF cofounders Jason Lewis and Monica Hernandez decided to change up their clothing swap format and offer something different- a book swap. The book swap will take place at the Phritzery on Saturday, May 12th, from noon to 3 pm.

“Up to this point, we’d exclusively used SwapSF to throw clothing swaps,” said Jason. “We figured that this would be an elegant way to show San Francisco a good time, have a drive for Friends of the Library and under-funded public schools, and maybe get back some of the books that we’ve loaned out over the years.”

The last SwapSF event, a co-ed clothing swap at The Phritzery, attracted over 150 people, and raised enough clothing to donate to three separate charities: Dolores Street Community Services, SF General Hospital, and, via Community Thrift, the AIDS Emergency Fund. “We’ve been enjoying having parties that allow the participants to give something back to the community,” said Monica, “and we feel, very deeply, that it is very important to serve them free drinks while they do so. It helps the process along.”

The process is a simple one: attendees are asked to bring good books in good condition, and to leave them with the organizers, who will attempt to sort them by genre, or, failing that, by color. Once the books are dropped off, attendees are free to walk around and pick up and take home any books that they want. “Books are big, heavy, and expensive,” said Monica. “This is a good way to rid your house of a few hundred pounds of books which (let’s face it) you don’t really read anymore, while picking up enough new books to keep you busy for the next six months- for free.”

Cover for the event is $5, or $10 without books. There will be an open vodka bar and free coffee for everyone who brings their own cup or mug. Music will be provided by maer (Dub Beautiful/OEM Radio), who will be spinning literati-friendly glitch hop.

All leftover items will be donated to Friends of the Library, as well as local schools that are in need of a fresh supply of books. For more information and for directions to the Phritzery, please visit www.swapsf.com.

About SwapSF
SwapSF is a San Francisco-based organization whose purpose is to hold clothing swaps and book swaps as a way to raise clothing and books for local charities while providing the best time possible for attendees. It is one of many interactive parties organized and thrown by San Francisco party people Monica Hernandez and Jason Lewis. For more information about SwapSF- including sponsorship opportunities, or about any of Monica and Jason’s events, please visit www.swapsf.com , or email them at Jason@SwapSF.com or Monica@SwapSF.com.