Allegheny’s English Department is hosting its inaugural Book Swap on Wednesday, May 1 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Students can stop by the lobby of Oddfellows Hall to swap out or simply pick up literature while enjoying a meal courtesy of the English department.
Haylee Pierce, ’25, had originally proposed the idea of a book swap as a final project for a communications course, citing the numerous textbooks left over from previous classes with no way to dispose of them.
“No one wants to just take random books that they don’t need,” Pierce said. “So I figured that a book swap event would be the perfect thing for people who can’t afford books to get books that people had already bought for a class, or just for people like me to get rid of books.”
A common theme among the organizers seems to be building community with Allegheny students. Pierce was also inspired to organize the event specifically at Oddfellows to encourage students to go there more often.
The building, being farthest up the hill, finds itself isolated from the rest of campus activities.
“I spent a lot of time in Oddfellows,” Pierce said. “The community up there is good, but there’s not a lot of flyers in the buildings because of how distant it is from campus. So, the fact that the English department is also trying to foster community and then also get more people around the department, that added to what I wanted to do at the book swap.”
Pierce spoke with Frederick F. Seely Associate Professor Jennie Votava, department chair of the English department, to find out the requirements for hosting an event like this. Alexis Hart, professor of English and director of writing, who also spoke with The Campus, would respond and offer guidance on how to proceed with event specifics.
“The English department, we’re up at the far north end of campus, and so we don’t always get that kind of foot traffic,” Hart said. “We did an event where we had folks reading during banned books week, reading banned and challenged books. That was a kind of way to make the English department visible on campus. The English department is generally trying to build community among our majors and minors.”
Votava also spoke to The Campus about the appeal of an event such as the Book Swap.
“The idea is that it’s not just for English students, although it’s hosted by us,” Votava said. “Any students from any discipline can bring any type of book that they want. You don’t have to bring books if you just want to come and browse the ones that others bring. You don’t have to be interested in books at all if you really just wanted to eat the free food.”
The English department will also be offering food and a space for students to relax after the end of the semester.
In the future, Pierce has plans to continue this event every school year. The organizers are currently waiting for feedback from those who will attend to see what needs changed for next year. The goal is for students to keep books throughout the fall and spring semester, then bring them to the book swap for other students. In addition, graduating seniors can ethically dispose of books for incoming students.
“I proposed also that they put together a library based off the books that didn’t get given to anyone,” Pierce said. “So that people could go there even after the book swap.”
“This is the pilot, this is the first time we’re doing this, so we’re hoping to see what kind of engagement we get,” Hart explained. “We do have room in Oddfellows because there are fewer faculty using the offices there where we might imagine an open lending library. That is, for me, creating this space on campus where readers and learners get a chance to engage with each other.”
For some students, finding textbooks or other written materials can be difficult because of certain financial constraints. Pierce, Hart and Votava are all optimistic about the future of the book swap. Because of this event, students can not only give away their old textbooks for students who need them, but will seemingly be contributing to a new tradition of goodwill and camaraderie on campus. It’s a great cause for all those involved, be it the literature, the food or the sense of togetherness it brings.
“I’d love to do this every year, or even start doing it every semester. Maybe having it at other times and trying to figure out when it’s the most useful for students to trade their books,” Votava said. “You could totally just pick up random books of interest to you. Having it at least once a year, maybe more often, and figuring out the timing are some downstream things we’ll think about.”