Exchanging used books can promote sustainability and offer opportunities to broaden your horizons. The Eco Warriors organize their Little Library events in the University Student Center, Room 105.

Eco Warriors have hosted their monthly grab-and-go library since the organization’s founding in 2019. Students can exchange gently used books and discover a variety of books that spark their interest. The space encourages resource sharing among students who enjoy reading and swapping books.

Elia Bustos (Senior, English) highlights the significance of hosting the Little Library.

“This library is organized as a little event for students to exchange a book to get another book,” Bustos stated. “We’ve come to realize that we shouldn’t have to buy these books, they should be free. Especially because they’re lightly used.

“Some of these books have been donated by ourselves, people that have come to the event to exchange books and our supporters of the organization who come to donate.”

Bustos discusses how the Little Library benefits student resources while actively promoting sustainability.

“We have quite a selection of books; we had some more donated today, so there’s even more of a variety,” said Bustos. “We have college textbooks that help when you don’t have the option to rent a textbook, and there’s also a variety of other books such as novels, children’s books, manga, drawing and a few cookbooks that someone had suggested earlier this semester.

“This promotes sustainability because it takes out the middleman of having to actually purchase the book,” Bustos continued. “It’s free and a lot of these books are lightly used, so you’re not buying new books straight out of the printer. I just encourage a variety of books because the more the merrier. And while a new book smell is nice, I think having lightly used books has a nicer touch to it.”

Abby Shrader (Senior, Communications) still wants to see a more diverse array of books donated to the little library, despite their already-broad offerings.

“We wanted to provide students with another way to get books without spending $20 on one book that they’re not sure if they even want to finish,” Shrader said. “It’s nice to provide students with the opportunity to potentially get a book for free. I would like to see more popular and trending novels for young adults, that would be something good to see.”

Shrader believes the Little Library is a great way for students to communicate and share their love for reading.

“When the book goes from one person to another instead of the trash, then that’s a plus, that’s success. This library allows students to talk with each other,” Shrader said. “If someone brought in a book, and then someone took it from them, they can talk about the book and get their opinions on it. So it also promotes community in a way.”

Briana Duarte (Junior, Business) shares how exchanging various types of books can help individuals in different ways.

“I think this is a great way to promote sustainability and let the students on campus reuse books without any financial barriers,” Duarte said. “I think kids books would be a great option because people would take them for their younger siblings or kids. We have a lot of older students on campus, so I think it’s nice that we also offer kids’ books for students with siblings or children even if it’s not necessarily relevant to them personally.”

Duarte claims that this library assists students in clearing out neglected books and sharing them with new potential owners.

“I feel like a lot of people get books, read them once, and then they just sit collecting dust on their shelf. So I think it’s a nice way to be able to clear out your bookshelf and give someone the opportunity to read the book for the first time,” Duarte said.

“It encourages a system where you can use books in a more sustainable way instead of just buying new books all the time, because you might find the book that you’re looking for here.”

This event is held multiple times throughout the semester. If you’re interested in attending, Eco Warriors post a calendar of upcoming events on their Instagram and website.