Wells Library offers recreational literature

Since 1969, IU’s main library has provided a safe haven for the strong-willed and academic-minded students on campus. 

Today, about 7.3 million  items can be found in the IU libraries system, which includes branches outside the main hub, the Herman B Wells Library.

The IU libraries system has been consistently ranked one of the top research libraries on a college campus by the Association of Research Libraries and the Association of College and Research Libraries.  However, the library system offers another invaluable resource — recreational reading directed toward the student population.

Emily Okada, head of the Reference Services Department,has helped bring leisure reading to students since she first started working at Wells 30 years ago.

“In all the years I’ve been working here, since 1982, I’ve noticed more students who just want to read for pleasure,” Okada said.

Okada buys for the core collection, the selection of books available in the upper levels of the West Tower.

She said she tries to choose books in which undergraduates would be interested, such as those about controversial topics as well as classical fiction, self-help books and multicultural literature.

“In the core collection, we focus on what students need to know,” she said.
Okada said she and other librarians see students in the West Tower’s second and third floors for recreational reading.

But as the students turn right to the elevators, Okada said, they often miss the most concentrated selection of leisure reading in the entire IU libraries system.

Nestled between group computer pods, to the back left of the first floor Information Commons, are two low bookshelves laden with paperbacks. Some of the books’ spines are worn, broken from heavy use by decades of readers. Books by J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen King have not aged gracefully. Others, like those from Jodi Picoult and Chuck Palahniuk, shine with fresh, new binding.

This is the browsing collection, a unique collection of mass market paperbacks bought for the purpose of recreational consumption.

Chanitra Bishop, the reference department’s instruction and immersion technologies librarian, selects and maintains this collection. 

“When I first started to look at what books were in the collection and what to add, I looked for trends in young adult literature, what people were talking about, books that had been turned into movies or appealed to diverse groups of people,” she said.
Today, the browsing collection has 1,100 books and adds 100 to 200 books
annually.

“We’d like to make students aware that leisure reading is there and for them to use,” she said. “It’s open for them 24/7 in the Information Commons, so students can pick up the books when they want them. It’s a great way to take a break from studying and relax at any time.”

For students who have a specific book in mind, Okada said, the East Tower’s stacks, IU libraries outside of the main library or Bloomington, or the RPS libraries may carry the item. Using the online library catalog, IUCAT, at libraries.iub.edu or asking a librarian in person may help the student locate and request the book for easy pick up at Wells.

However, if the book is not available within the system, Bishop suggests sending an email with the name of the item to libref@indiana.edu.

Recreational requests are ordered about every two to three months, while required readings can be available within two to three weeks.

“The main point is that people should come and ask,” Okada said. “It doesn’t have to be for studies and heavy duty research. Our ‘Ask a Librarian’ team will help you find any item you need.”