Centenary’s 37th Book Bazaar Benefits Whole Community

The Centenary Muses hold the Book Bazaar every year to raise money that goes directly to benefit Centenary’s student population.

The 37th annual Centenary Book Bazaar was held Sept 18-19. The fundraiser run by the Centenary Muses raised over one million dollars in total from the event, with $50 thousand raised in 2025 alone. All of the proceeds go directly to Centenary students.

The Centenary Muses have run the book drive every year that it has happened. It started in 1987 and was originally held at Mall St. Vincent. They raised around $1500 and knew that they had to continue it. The next year, they held it at the recently-built Gold Dome on campus and raised even more money for students. It has been a tradition ever since, now held in the FIT.

The Centenary Muses are a philanthropy group for the college that mostly consists of about 40 women who are alumni or are related to someone who went to Centenary. Their purpose is to raise money for Centenary’s student population. All of the money that they raise goes directly to the students. Things  that they have raised money for includes new robes for the choir, games for the Student Union Building, new equipment for the theatre program, chairs for the dormitories, laptops that students are able to borrow from the IT department, and food for the food pantries around campus.

Throughout the year, the Centenary Book House, located in the Centenary Square building, is open Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and they have a drop box outside of the building that they take collections from. The job of the Muses that work in the Book House is to collect, price, and sort the books throughout the year so that everything is ready by the time the Bazaar rolls around.

The chairman of the Book House is Centenary Muse Grace Bareikis, and she has been serving in that position for 15 years. She works to ensure books are collected properly throughout the year and that the Bazaar runs smoothly in order to raise funds for students. 

While the benefits for the student population are apparent, the Book Bazaar also helps to connect Centenary to both the wider Shreveport-Bossier area. Bareikis says that people from all over the community come: "Everybody in Shreveport and everybody from every side of the town comes.” Whether they are connected to Centenary, a member of any part of the local community, or they run used bookstores and are looking for stock, the Book Bazaar is the place for them. 

Senior Aaliyah Vines says that the Book Bazaar is particularly useful to her as an English major. She says that it is a great opportunity for her to purchase books for a low price that she would not be able to get otherwise. She says that “some of my personal taste in literature and poetry has been shaped by what I've been able to get at the Book Bazaar.”

Local community member Matthew Watson has been a regular of the Book Bazaar for many years and was camped out outside of the FIT for five hours before the opening on Sept. 19. He has been looking for a volume of the biography of Herbert Hoover and says that the Book Bazaar is a great way to find those specific books that he collects for a low cost. Watson joked that he was not “crazy” for sitting outside for so long before opening. He was just “eager.” 

Centenary’s Book Bazaar happens every year during September. The Centenary Book House is located at Centenary Square, 108 East Kings Highway, and they appreciate donations all year long.