In an era dominated by technology and digital media, checking out books just got a whole lot easier. A couple of associates in the Calvin T. Ryan Library took a bold step in starting a book recommendation subscription program not only tailored to students but also to faculty and community members.
When individuals subscribe to the book recommendation list, they will receive recommendations once every two weeks with reviews from Joseph Anderjaska, an access services associate in the library. The books will be based on the month and minor holidays occurring during the month.
Kelsey Baxter, an access services associate, said she knew she wanted to start a book recommendations subscription when she started working for the library.
“It was an idea that I had when I was a student,” Baxter said. “It was always something that I always wished that the library had. Finally, since I work for the library, I get to put together a subscription list. I hope that people will become more engaged with the library’s collection and be more interested in books that they haven’t heard of before.”
Several features come along with the subscription such as getting to know the people who work in the library and reading some of their favorite books. Subscribers are also able to recommend books that they enjoy.
“The second email that will go out is going to be highlighting staff and subscriber picks,” Baxter said. “This will kind of introduce the subscribers to the staff in the library.”
Anderjaska is also another staff member who is contributing to the recommendation list. He will be doing most of the reviews of the books that will be on the list.
“I hope this ends up going well and I hope we will get a few people interested and open them up to something they will end up really enjoying,” Baxter said.
Isabel Shafer, a senior majoring in 7-12 language arts education, said she is excited the library has started a program that will encourage her to read more often.
“Reading has always been something that I like to do on my free time,” Shafer said. “I usually find it difficult to find a good book to really get into, especially with how busy I get with my classes. With this new book recommendation subscription, I hope to be able to find several books that I would have never thought about reading before.”
