Fall in love with reading: Campbell Library hosts “Blind Date With a Book” event

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and if you haven’t found yourself a valentine yet Campbell Library has got you covered. Throughout February up until Valentine’s Day, Rowan’s library is hosting “Blind Date With a Book.”

Located on the first floor of the library in the leisure section is a bookshelf covered in hearts and pink, red and purple decorations. On top of the shelf are several books covered in wrapping paper with just short descriptions listed. The cover and title are hidden until the book is checked out and unwrapped.

Students can simply pick up a book or two that peak their interest and check them out at the front desk using their Rowan ID. 

The event has taken place in previous years and was revived this semester by library assistants Abigail Hummell and Matilda Stolte to encourage students to take advantage of the library and to experience and enjoy reading outside of the classroom.

“We basically wanted to find a way to be more interactive with our patrons and also get our leisure book collection circulating more,” said Hummell. 

Hummell and Stolte selected the books themselves by looking at reviews and summaries online to gauge what students might like, and to add some variance from the already existing, and somewhat limited, leisure reading section.  

So far, the turnout has been greater than expected. According to Hummell, 16 different blind date books have been checked out so far and the library is working to curate more titles to keep the shelf stocked until the event ends on Feb. 14. 

“I think it’s a good way to fall in love with reading. I know when I was a student in college sometimes it was harder for me to read for fun because you’re reading so much for school,” Hummell said. “It’s a nice way to get away from the schoolwork for a little bit and read something.”

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