'Potter-mania' hits Bloomington

Witches, wizards and Muggles engulfed local bookstores Friday night in hopes of being the first to own the fifth installment in the popular Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Borders, Barnes and Noble and Howard's Bookstore all stayed open to celebrate the release of the children's book, which officially was released Saturday at 12:01 a.m. Bookstores were celebrating the release of the book all day Friday with craft sessions, Harry Potter trivia and other games.\nThe scene at Borders Books and Music was that of organized chaos. Jubilant Harry Potter fans were socializing with each other, comparing their wit while Borders' employees, dressed as witches and wizards, distributed tickets that guaranteed the holder a spot in line; these tickets began being distributed at 9:01 a.m. on Friday. Recent IU graduate Sarah Jacobi was the first in line to receive a copy at Borders.\n"I was here in the morning to get my ticket," she said. "I waited for the store to open."\nJacobi said she chose to wait in line at a bookstore instead of ordering online because Borders had the best available price. The book, which is listed at $29.99, was selling at a 40 percent discount at both Borders and Barnes and Noble.\n"Waiting here is part of the fun," Jacobi said. "It's really exciting that everybody is realizing what good books these are. When I first started reading them, people wondered why I was reading a kid's book; I was embarrassed to buy them. Now everybody sees why I love these books."\nResplendent in his crimson velvet robes and hat topped with a peacock feather, Bloomington resident Brian Morton was waiting in line about 100 people back. Dressed as Gilderoy Lockhart,the ill-fated Defense Against the Dark Arts professor of Hogwarts from Harry's second year at the school, he entertained onlookers with his elaborate garb. Waiting with his wife and 16-month-old son, he said he was ecstatic about receiving the new book.\n"Our son likes having the Harry Potter stories read to him," he said. \nMorton said he and his family had been at Borders since 7 p.m. enjoying the atmosphere, games and other entertainment. \n"Its our first time going to something like this," he said. "We really didn't know quite what to expect, but this has been great."\nBorders employees could not comment on the number of people in attendance or their expected sales of the book.\nAcross the street at Barnes and Noble, the scene was much more subdued. Those who pre-ordered the book before June 1 waited patiently in line to receive their books bespectacled in the Harry Potter look-alike glasses distributed by costumed Barnes and Noble employees. \n"We didn't give out more tickets than we have copies of the book," said Rebecca Guest-Scott, a department manager. "We started giving away tickets at 9, but we, of course, give the people who pre-ordered the book preference in line."\nShe said the Barnes and Noble celebration officially began at 9 p.m., but the store started filling up after the dinner hours.\n"We put a lot of time and crafty effort into preparing for this launch," Guest-Scott said.\nScholastic, Inc., the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter series, said it was too early to determine the level of sales for the book; the first U.S. printing was set at 8.5 million copies. Amazon.com delivered over 1.3 million copies of "The Order of the Phoenix" to customers Saturday, making it the largest single item distribution in e-commerce history.\nCopies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" are available at several local retailers. Its list price is $29.99, but it is discounted at many locations.