Students celebrating National Library week April 10 through 16 took part in a plethora of events, including  tours,  basket raffles, and a “Take a Break” event, in which studying students received snacks.

Carolyn Maguire, senior occupational therapy major, said the snacks during the “Take-A-Break” event are very popular.

“Not only do you get free food, but it gives you a chance to literally take a break from your work. NLW is fun because it’s another way to interact with the patrons of the library and while we do events every year, we try to switch them up!” said

Although the library hosts many events throughout the week, many students do not realize all the events are happening, Maguire said.

“The library does a lot to promote student engagement and involvement for this week. We had flyers around campus, we had our basket raffle around campus, we had announcements on MyMu. I would say we had a decent amount of student engagement during the events. However, I think many students on campus are unaware of NLW and the events we hold and the prizes they could win,” stated Maguire.

Maguire works for the library access desk where she she manages calls, helps students find books, and assists with basic needs across the library. Maguire regularly works with students and faculty and gets to know their interests, including students such as Zoe Laporte, a senior English and mass communication and design major who said National Library Week events provide stress relief.

“Library week is this amazing week that shows up during a stressful point of the semester and helps distract me from the awfulness of finals. They have awesome events and everyone is just so nice! I just love seeing the library having so much going on. The library is one of my favorite places on campus but during library week it becomes the best place on campus. Honestly,” stated Laporte.

Laporte believes that National Library Week does not get the attention  it deserves. She said not only does the library put on interesting events like basket raffles, but that staff puts in extra effort by branching out of the library to reach out to students. Places such as Intermezzo café and the Banks Student Life Center are all host to National Library Week events.

“Even though I don’t spend a lot of time in the library outside of the classes I have there, I love being in there. It’s just a beautiful, relaxing place where I can quietly do work. The staff is always so helpful, too. It’s an awesome place on campus,” Laporte said.

Maguire said she values all of the library’s services.

“I love the library here on campus. While I’m not the type of student who spends hours on hours in the library, it’s been a super valuable resource in my education. Not only is it a place to meet or to study, there are so many resources available to students. The databases through the library are super important, they have a really nice DVD collection, and the lovesacs may be my favorite thing in the library. Also, the librarians are super helpful and kind,” Maguire exclaimed.

Maguire said library staff are always looking for interactive and exciting ideas from students.

One of her favorite events involved different emojis.

“We put up a bunch of emojis that represented different books and phrases on the first-floor stacks and people had to guess the phrase. It was fun to talk to my friends and try to figure out what they were,” Maguire stated.

She said students’ opinions are always welcome as staff plans the next year’s programs. She said student involvement and ideas make for more fun and interactive programs, while their involvement emphasizes and ecognizes how important the library is.

National Library Week programs are essential because libraries everywhere are undervalued, and students should support local libraries, Maguire said.