That Time Again …

It is once again time for College Library’s “Blind Date with a Book” display. The concept was originally suggested by a student assistant at College Library, Syaza Noor Azmi, back in 2015. The display encourages library patrons to go on a “blind date” with a book. Since each book is wrapped in order to hide the author and title, readers have to trust the brief description provided and take a leap of faith when selecting a book. Inspired by similar displays at other libraries, Syaza thought one geared specifically toward undergrads would be a great way to get people to try out reading new genres. Installing it around Valentine’s Day would be perfect, because, as she said, “a blind date with a new book does seem romantic.” A selection of both fiction and non-fiction titles have been wrapped in brown craft paper to preserve their anonymity. Not until the book is actually checked out do “readers” get to see the title they selected.

The titles this year were selected and wrapped by College Library’s ISIP intern, Kayla Vang. She reports, “Since this is a new year, our ‘Blind Date with a Book’ display features a number of our most recent additions within the Main, Open Book and Ethnic Studies collections.” Each book features a tantalizing blurb that can offer everything from escape to heartbreak, romance to outrage. With such a range available, we join Kayla in wishing that, “you find the perfect book and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!”