Fun! Games! and Prizes! at the Library

September 11, 2015 at 12:00 pm Bill DiFilippo Leave a comment

Libraries get a bad rap. With the ability to have the entire world of information right at their fingertips, there are plenty of people who view libraries as old and outdated. Of course, libraries are a spectacular resource, especially for college students. In an attempt to make sure those students know it, the Penn State Libraries held their 14th annual Open House this week.

The open house was designed to get students inside the library, and there were seven stations around Pattee and Paterno libraries meant to show students how various areas of the library can help them with just about anything:

Research Jumpstart
Stacks Tour
Knowledge Commons and Media Commons
Arts and Humanities Library and News and Microforms Library
Life Sciences Library
Research Hub
Special Collections Library

These stops featured a brief speech from a librarian about what was in each area, as well as examples to help students understand what they can glean from being there. For example, students could make origami at the Arts and Humanities library, go through an art exhibit at the Special Collections library, and, at the Life Sciences library, walk through a maze which taught them about the size of the university’s library system.

The best part? There were incentives to complete the tour. Students scanned their ID cards at every station, and at the end, they could enter to win prizes—like Apple Watches and Fitbits—and were guaranteed cool free gear, like temporary tattoos and water bottles. Those who made every stop got a free T-shirt.

“Each stop that [students] go to gives them some information about the library and how to use it,” said Sandy Hoffmaster, a library supervisor.

In all, the tour didn’t take long—I rushed through it in about 20 minutes. Even though I spent a fair amount of time there as a student, I can safely say I learned more about Penn State—did you know there was a time when an African lion was the mascot? I had no idea—and its spectacular library system.

Bill DiFilippo, online editor

The Penn Stater Magazine