The Region : Library Telethon Raises $1.2 Million

The Save the Books telethon, held through the weekend to benefit the fire-ravaged Los Angeles Central Library, had raised more than $1.2 million by late Sunday, organizers said. They still hoped to reach the $2-million mark by midnight, the scheduled conclusion of the program, spokesman Mark Travis said. More than $1 million in pledges from viewers across the country were made in the first 24 hours of the telethon, which started Friday. The event, broadcast over Channels 30 and 56, was held at the Glendale studios of television preacher Gene Scott, who donated use of the studios and his University TV Network for the program. The telethon is one of several events planned this year to raise $10 million to replace library materials destroyed in two arson fires last year.