The Belk Library and Information Commons organized a carnival-themed open house Wednesday from 2-6 p.m. to showcase the various departments available for student use.
The event was held on the library’s lower level and first floor. Participating students started in the atrium, where they could grab a “passport” and travel throughout the two floors to different booths displaying the services Belk Library offers.
“I love seeing the students out here, having a good time and engaging with the library,” said Sai Estep, the manuscripts and archives processor.
This is the open house’s first year back since then and it was open to any App State student, regardless of academic year. The event was organized by a committee of 10 library employees from various departments.
The booths were complete with either candy, informational cards or displays from their department. Workers from each department stood at the booths to talk to students about their services and to stamp their passports.
“We are accessible, we are friendly people that you can talk to and get help from,” said Breanne Crumpton, the information literacy librarian for the humanities and organizer of the open house.
Once a student collected seven stamps, their passport was complete and they had the opportunity to enter a drawing for select prizes. The drawing was done at the end of the event.
In addition to the passport drawings, there were various games, crafts and activities that students could participate in for either prizes or fun. Each game matched the overall carnival theme and included throwing a bean bag against crates, fishing plastic ducks out of a bucket and tossing a ping pong ball into fish bowls.
“There can be a lot of anxiety around libraries,” Crumpton said. “We wanted to add a fun element to it.”
There were also non-prizeable games like a mini-golf course that spanned the entire children’s section of the lower level, fit with a wooden block obstacle course and an assortment of colorful equipment.
The Belk Library’s open house tradition started in 2017 as a way to invite the incoming freshman class to the library. When the event was originally put together, it was exclusive to the first years of App State. The library had to stop the open house events when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools.
“We thought why not bring it back, make it bigger and open it to everyone,” Crumpton said.
Talk of the event began in the spring semester of last year, and the overall goal the planning committee had was to allow students a chance to engage with the library, Crumpton said. The event was structured in a way where students had to go through the lower level and explore what it had to offer, as well as the first floor.
“We hope people after this event come see us and ask questions and learn more about what we are as an academic library,” Crumpton said.
