“The Stormlight Archive,” a high fantasy novel series by Brandon Sanderson, has enjoyed time at the top of the New York Times best seller list since its publishing more than 15 years ago.
That popularity can make it difficult to get these books quickly from a public library. Caleb Roher, a University of Oregon admission counselor, joined a waitlist at the Multnomah County Library earlier this year to check out the series.
“It was going to be awhile,” he said.
Then Roher got an idea: Why not try UO Libraries? The Knight Library had the entire series and Roher was soon deep into Sanderson’s mythical Cosmere universe and the battles of the fantastic characters within.
There are popular reading collections at three UO libraries, in fact: Knight Library and the John E. Jaqua Law Library on the Eugene campus, and the UO Portland Library at UO Portland.
Education experts at the UO note that adults who read for pleasure can inspire kids to pick up a book. But even if the goal is just a literary break from the daily hustle-bustle, UO librarians say the popular reading collections are packed with page turners worth checking out.
For more information about these collections, read on.
Knight Library popular reading collection
Where: First floor, in the Learning Commons
What’s in it: Fiction, including science fiction and fantasy; memoirs; travel and hiking guides
How to find a book: Visit Knight Library and browse the collection or use the library search
What’s been popular lately: Matt Dinniman’s “Dungeon Crawler Carl,” a science fantasy literary-role-playing-game series
Why have the collection: “People need an outlet for relaxation,” said Kristin Walker, resource sharing librarian. “We want to give people a chance to do something besides look at a screen.”
John E. Jaqua Law Library popular reading collection
Where: Second floor of the William W. Knight Law Center, just inside the library
What’s in it: Fiction and nonfiction titles found on New York Times and other best sellers lists, popular reads in the Northwest and books by local authors, and a children’s collection
How to find a book: Visit the law library and browse the collection or use the library search
What’s been popular lately: “Annihilation” by Jeff VanderMeer
Why have the collection: “Law students don’t necessarily have a lot of time, so we wanted to provide something that would support their work-life balance in a way that was convenient for them,” said Ilona Tsutsui, head of collections and acquisitions at the law library. “We realized too some of our heavy users are faculty and staff. It’s about making these books available to everyone.”
UO Portland Library
Where: Second floor, by service desk in the library
What’s in it: English and American literature, graphic novels, young adult titles, biographies, autobiographies and popular-reading selections for child behavioral health and other degree programs at UO Portland
How to find a book: Visit the UO Portland library and browse the collection or use the library search; search results can be filtered by location to find items held in the UO Portland library
What’s been popular lately: “Recently it was [Frank Herbert’s] ‘Dune,’” said Michael Brown, library manager. “It was getting requested [by people] all over the country.”
Why have the collection: “We’re in a neighborhood community,” Brown said. “We’re supporting not only our students, faculty and staff, but the community. People are in such a hurry. Popular reading is a way to slow down a little bit.”