Res Readers Rejoice!

As residents of Barton College, Waurn Ponds settle in for the year they’ll come across something a bit different in the common room. Thanks to two book lovers within our Residential Leader team, there’s a new library/book share that’s popped up and is sure to provide hours of reading pleasure for our residents.

Below we hear from Residential Leaders (RLs) Megan and Teagan who set up this initiative, which we hope will facilitate wellbeing and community spirit within the Residential student cohort.

Please introduce yourselves – where you grew up and what you’re studying at Deakin?

Megan:
Hi! I hail from a rural town in the northeast of Victoria called Wangaratta. I’m currently in my second year of a Bachelor of Biomedical science. Also a skateboarding fanatic.

Teagan:
Hi, I'm in my second year of a Bachelor of Psychology with Honours. I come from a very small town called Arcadia, located near Shepparton.

What inspired you to create the free library/book exchange?

M: Personally I enjoy reading, and I know so many others do as well. So Teagan and I felt it was a really neat idea to have a little book library on res for people to exchange/borrow books a bit more accessibly! We also felt it would be a nice idea to have others who don’t read as much get into it! There’s a pretty diverse range of books so it’s fairly accessible to people of all reading levels and interests! It also helps heaps when readers have a book they no longer want, and they can then donate it for someone else to enjoy while getting one back!

T: During first year o-week all the RLs chose a topic to create an 'interest group' and Megan and I chose books as we both love reading and often make sneaky trips to Dymocks or the library during the week. As part of the interest group, we created a Facebook for other book lovers to join and share books they love.

As we were waiting at the interest group event for the ressies to start coming over, Toby from the Campus Life team asked us if we'd ever considered the idea of a book library. I thought this was an amazing idea and asked Toby if he knew of any cabinets or shelving we could use to get something going. From there we chose the shelves we thought would be best, made up the posters and sourced the books. Megan and I had so much fun sneakily laminating and printing and dropping veiled hints! I really just wanted to share the love of books with the res community, especially considering a lot of students just read textbooks. I thought creating this library would be a wonderful opportunity for students to diversify their reading, and just to relax in general. For this reason, when I sourced the books I made sure to include a large variety of genres and reading levels. There are mostly fiction of different genres, but also a few non-fiction, some children's books for a nice light read, and a really wholesome book – 'The Blue Day Book' – which is great for a smile.

What has the response been like from your fellow students?

M: So far, many residents and RLs absolutely loved the idea, although I’m not quite sure exactly how many have visited the library. We have had exchanges and seen new books appear in the library, which is incredible to see considering the time and work put towards the library!

T: It's kind of difficult to gauge the response from res, given the library is located in the Barton common room and not somewhere I walk past everyday, but I like to think that it has been getting some use from residents. Megan and I plan to keep adding books, and hopefully putting a few more posts up throughout the year to keep people engaged. We may even have a few 'reading sessions' throughout the year.

What does it mean for you to have access to a good book? What’s your favourite book/author?

M: I think it’s important for me (and others) to access good books not only for the benefits of reading, but being able to bury yourself into a good story and mentally go someplace else is a nice way to take a break from the world around you.

A favourite book of mine would have to be 'One Last Stop' by Casey McQuiston. I do also enjoy reading poetry by a range of authors.

T: For me, having access to a good book is essential. Whenever I go away I always make sure to take at least two books with me – one I'm reading, and one 'in case I finish it!' I've always loved reading and may have a slight problem with buying books whenever I go into a bookstore, but that's okay, because I'm learning (and there are worse hobbies to have)!

Reading is one of my hobbies and something I find I can always turn to if I've had a bad day, if I'm tired, or just whenever I want some downtime. Reading enables me to find my way into different worlds and to experience something new for a while. My favourite time to read is winter, when the weather is cold and stormy and I am snuggled under my doona with the heater on.

Honestly, I read so many books that choosing a favourite author is nearly impossible!!! I love Liane Moriarty, Lisa Genova, Jodi Picoult, Michael Robotham, and so many more! I love dystopian novels like 'the Hunger Games' and 'Divergent'. I love based-on-true-stories novels such as books written by Heather Morris, I love emotional, feel good, reads, and sometimes just a daring psychological thriller!

How has the atmosphere been so far in 2022 on Res? Any highlights?

M: I absolutely love the general atmosphere of res. I feel connected with so many people, I feel included and I feel safe being myself. Not to mention the general surrounding environment of res; I will never get sick of the plant life and nature around res and the Deakin campus.

One huge thing I particularly found really sweet was the Residential Leader team and Campus Life staff getting around giving me a hand with my hair, shoes and other general things when I fractured my collarbone – it made me feel less alone and isolated knowing I didn’t have to try to push doing it on my own.

T: So far I think the atmosphere on res has been amazing! We've seen wonderful engagement from so many ressies at different events and I've absolutely loved getting to know as many people as I can and helping to make everyone's transition as easy and positive as it can be. For me, the highlights so far have been the free food (because I'm a uni student, and who doesn't love free food?), the You Yangs and Barwon River walk, the trivia night, and the interest groups.

Anything else you’d like to share?

M: Huge thanks to Teagan for being a part of this with me! It’s been a fun and exciting project that I really enjoyed contributing to alongside her! Also big thanks to Toby for helping us set this up and providing us a shelf to work with! Lastly a huge thanks to all the people interacting with the library, you guys are what bring it to life!

T: I'd just encourage anyone to check out the book library, regardless of if they are a big reader or not. It's a wonderful space and we'd love to see as many people as possible borrowing and sharing books!!

Thanks to Megan and Teagan for sharing their thoughts and for starting this great initiative! It’s a wonderful way for residents to build community and engage in life on campus.