Library Week celebrated with readings
The power is found in the written word and a free drink.
In celebration of National Library Week at Utah State University, the newly developed Quadside Café in the Merrill Library will be hosting a reading for USU students.
This event hopes to inspire students to open their minds to new books and have them come to the library more often, said Daniel Davis, head of the committee for Library Week.
“We want to recognize how powerful books are in people’s lives,” Davis said.
According to a press release, the first 100 students will receive a free drink of their choice from the café. All who attend will have the opportunity to hear nine different campus personalities read a selection from their favorite book. Each person will have 10 minutes to share what he has prepared.
The readings will begin at 2 p.m. until around 3:30 on Tuesday, April 8th.
Daren Olson, instructional designer under the vice provost for Libraries and Instructional Support; Brian McCuskey, associate professor, department of English; and Kevin Dustin, associate Athletics director, will all be guest readers at this event, according to the press release.
The Quadside Café opened last fall. The idea for the café was originally inspired by other academic libraries that have incorporated cafés into their libraries. It is for the purpose of the library users to have access to a café during all library hours, Davis said.
“We want to encourage people to use the café and to bring students into the library for Library Week,” Davis said.
National Library Week has been held at Utah State University for many years, Davis said. Other activities during the week will be a Scholarly Communication Symposium on Wednesday at 9:45 a.m., and the Merrill Library behind-the-scenes tours will take place Thursday at 10 a.m. The Quadside Café reading will be the opening event for the week, and Davis hopes this activity will promote student participation in the rest of the week’s events.
“Our purpose is to celebrate libraries and reading books,” Davis said.
-syllee@cc.usu.edu