Rather than wait for students to come to the library, the library has come to them.

Through a new pilot project, staff from the James A. Gibson Library have begun manning a booth on campus to offer on-the-spot book loans, answers to common research questions and information about available library resources and services.

Evelyn Smith, Marketing and Communications Co-ordinator and Reference Assistant for the James A. Gibson Library, has been helping to man the pop-up library in Mackenzie Chown A-Block.

Found in the main hallway of Mackenzie Chown A-Block on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the pop-up library was first introduced in early March and continues to the end of the month.

The project was launched in an effort to raise awareness among students of what the library has to offer, without them first having to set foot inside.

“We’ve made connections with quite a few students so far,” said Evelyn Smith, the library’s Marketing and Communications Co-ordinator and Reference Assistant, who has been staffing the booth alongside colleagues Simone Saunders and Alicia Floyd. “The feedback has been great. We’ve had some interesting questions from students, but also from staff and faculty.”

The booth has been used to highlight the library’s popular fiction and board game collection, while also spreading word about other lesser-known resources and services.

“It began as a way to offer quick research advice to students, but evolved into an opportunity to showcase the library’s other offerings,” Smith said. “Our students only use a fraction of the resources and services available to them. We want to make sure they know we have a lot that exists that they’re not necessarily aware of.”

The pop-up library continues March 22 and 27 from 10 a.m. to noon in Mackenzie Chown A-Block.