February is Library Lovers’ Month! Who decided this? I have no idea, but I’m in full support of such a thing. As college students, we should all be familiar with the library. Whether you go to Marston Science Library for the 24/5 mass-produced study space or you hole yourself up in Library East because the ceiling of the reading room reminds you of Hogwarts, we each have a unique relationship with the many libraries on campus. UF has the biggest library database in Florida, with six libraries and a constantly growing digital collection.
If you’ve never bothered to check out the fascinating library resources that UF offers, the time to do so is now. From the stunning Library of Judaica to the 3-D printer in Marston you can actually use — I know someone who printed an entire chess set just for kicks — UF’s library system shines as an example of how the university tries hard to give students a great learning experience. We just have to take advantage of it.
In honor of Library Lovers’ Month, I present a few counterarguments to reasons I’ve heard some people cite for not indulging in healthy library exploration:
“I don’t like studying in the library. It’s too full of people. I get more work done in my room.”
Here’s a fascinating idea: The library is not meant exclusively as a study space. They actually have, like, books there. You can check them out and leave and not do any studying there at all! You don’t even have to look at the people chowing down Chipotle on the quiet floor of Library West if you don’t want to! Wow.
“Library books are gross and full of germs! Do you know how many disgusting people might have touched that book?”
I don’t, and I don’t really want to know, either. But maybe you are someone plagued by the idea of hundreds of skin cells flaking onto the open pages of your collection of T.S Eliot’s poems from 1955.
If you weren't before, I bet you are now. I am a little, just from writing that sentence.
However, I’m here to tell you a study by the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and an article by Mental Floss both concluded that the germy content sticking to the average public library book is not enough to make someone ill.
There are so many public spaces in today’s society that are likely just as full of people-germs, such as our much-loved Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, packed as it is with hundreds of people every gameday.
If you can visit the Swamp in the sweltering heat of August and pack yourself in like a sardine to watch football, I’m sure you can handle checking out a library book.
“The library is for nerds. That’s not where I’ll meet my next boyfriend/girlfriend/significant unicorn.”
I’m not sure this is a legitimate reason for anyone to not visit the library, but on the chance you view the many libraries of UF as hubs of cultural geekiness and are too cool to venture inside: Picture a moment browsing the bookshelves in the Fine Arts Library. You and your potential S.O. both reach for the same book at the same time; it’s love! You proceed to curl up in a chair and tell each other your life stories.
Trust me, a meet-cute in the library is at least 10 times more epically romantic than a meet-cute at a frat party, where the potential S.O. then has to break the moment by vomiting all over your shoes.
“I’m a hipster, and I can’t go inside any of UF’s libraries for fear of being drawn to the mainstream beverage monolith of Starbucks. Plus, there are no succulents for me to take pictures of in Lib. West.”
Dude, I totally get it. Don’t worry; Alachua County has a library of its own!
By signing up for a free library card, you gain admission to explore this suitably off-the-beaten-path library at any time. They will even give you access to a digital archive of pretty much any magazine ever.
These reasons may seem a little far-fetched, but my main point is, as students, we have access to a wealth of library resources that, once we graduate, may be far more difficult to find. Celebrate Library Lovers’ Month for the wonderful affirmation of learning that it is, and go explore a library today.
Sally Greider is an English and public relations junior. Her column appears on Wednesdays.
