Half Price Books Supports Keep Phoenix Beautiful With Opening of New Camelback Store
Bookstore Chain Opening 3rd Phoenix-area Location

PHOENIX (January 15, 2010) Half Price Books, the nation's largest family-owned new and used bookstore chain, will open its 106th location at 9 a.m. on Thursday, February 4, at 2102 E. Camelback Rd. (across from Town & Country Shopping Center). A special sneak preview party, "Shop for the Environment" benefiting Keep Phoenix Beautiful, is open to the public on Wednesday, February 3 from 5-9 p.m. There will be food and entertainment, and 10 percent of the night's proceeds will benefit the local group. Sharon Anderson Wright, President and CEO of Half Price Books, will be in attendance.

Additionally, the first 100 customers through the door each day of opening weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) will receive a special Half Price Books tote bag containing a $5 gift card, while one bag will contain a gift card worth $100.

"We’ve been searching for an additional location in Phoenix for a while, and feel this is the perfect place to reach our shoppers," said Kathy Doyle Thomas, executive vice president of Half Price Books. "This is such an intelligent community, and we feel our store in the Camelback area will be well-received."

Since opening its first Phoenix-area store in 1998, Half Price Books has partnered with Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County and most recently, Keep Phoenix Beautiful.

However, the company is no newcomer to recycling, literacy and environmental efforts. When founders and environmentalists Pat Anderson and Ken Gjemre planned their first store, they simply had a vision to keep good books in circulation rather than going into a landfill, and have since made caring for the environment a major focus of the company. The Half Price Books mission statement reflects its commitment to the environment, and the Camelback store is one of the chain's most progressive as far as installing eco-friendly elements such as low-flow toilets, low-emission paint and water-based floor sealant, during the construction phase.

The new location occupies 7,700 square feet, and is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. During the grand opening weekend, Sunday hours are extended from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. as well. Two other Half Price Books area stores are located in Mesa at 6339 E. Southern Ave., and the Paradise Valley area at 4322 E. Cactus Rd.

About Half Price Books*
Half Price Books is the largest family-owned new and used bookstore chain with more than 100 retail locations in 16 states. Stores are open seven days a week and buy and sell new and used books, magazines, comics, records, CDs, DVDs and collectible items. Half Price Books has been dedicated to environmental and literacy efforts for 36 years and supports hundreds of local, national and international programs. Each year the company sponsors the Half Pint Library Book Drive at each of its stores, donating thousands of books to hospitals and clinics throughout the United States. Half Price Books is a founding contributor to Laura Bush's National Book Festival, a continuing supporter of the National Center for Family Literacy, and the founder of the environmental website BecomeGreen.org. For more information about Half Price Books, its store locations and corporate initiatives, please visit www.halfpricebooks.com.