Middleton Library is working to make paperback books available to students completely hassle-free in hopes of increasing reading and cultural awareness at LSU.
The staff at Middleton Library has opened a paperback book exchange where students can browse a sizable collection of books and choose some to read without having to check out anything.
The paperback exchange, which opened last week, is located in the reference department of Middleton Library.
Many students pass by the shelf, unaware of the exchange’s existence.
Students who do stop, however, will find that there are several different titles in the collection, in genres ranging from westerns to romances to bestsellers.
The signs next to the shelf make students aware of the guidelines of the exchange: students are free to take a reasonable number of books, there is no obligation to return them, and they are encouraged to bring in their own books and the ones they are finished reading.
Lindsey Besselman, a business sophomore, perused the selection of paperbacks on the exchange shelf.
“I think it’s a good idea, but it could use a better selection,” Besselman said.
Besselman said she had not heard of many of the titles. “If more people know about it, there will be a better selection of books,” she said.
Mark Sanders, a reference and outreach services librarian for LSU libraries, started the paperback exchange.
“In a sense, I conceived and organized the exchange with help from members of the library,” Sanders said.
The exchange opened with 280 books, Sanders said, and yesterday there were 206 books remaining.
The exchange began initially with donations from library staff, which Sanders inventoried and alphabetized to facilitate students’ use.
“I really hope students will not just take books, but also donate their own paperbacks that others may enjoy,” Sanders said.
About thirty books have been donated since the beginning of the exchange, he said.
Sanders said other universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have successfully implemented book exchanges in their library systems.