Marshall’s libraries provide many more resources besides literature, one staff member of Drinko Library said.

“Most people tend to think library equals books,” librarian Diane Palmieri said, “and we do obviously have a lot of books, but we do a lot of other really cool stuff that some people are so unaware of.”

Marshall Libraries will showcase and celebrate what they have to offer the university as a part of National Libraries Week, April 7-13.

Drinko Library will host a week-long scavenger hunt in the building, giving students the chance to win gift cards. Students can also stop by the library on April 9-11 for stress relief activities; additionally, they can visit Marshall Libraries’ table on Wednesday, April 10, at the Earth Day Fair to make bookmarks. 

“National Libraries Week is really big in the library sector because it increases awareness of our existence and how we are able to provide services to the public,” said Lindsey Harper, Morrow Library’s archivist and record management librarian. 

Having never been in Morrow herself until she got a part-time job in the library, Harper said the building holds information many people don’t realize is at the university.

“I think something unique we have here is resources that don’t exist anywhere in the world,” Harper said. “Specific to a special library are the items that are one-of-a-kind that we have: they’re about community members, everyday people, families, businesses and organizations.”

“It’s a good way to get a glimpse into what Huntington looked like 50 years ago or 100 years ago,” she added, “and 50 years from now, we’re going to be able to get a glimpse of what this place looked like on an individual level—and it isn’t going to exist anywhere else.” 

Similarly, Palmieri said Drinko Library has collections which go underutilized because students may not know about them.

“We have the general collection, which is where the majority of our books are, but we also have a separate DVD collection with just a bunch of movies,” Palmieri said. 

Along with the DVD collection, Palmieri listed the graphic novel, juvenile, government document and online collections as resources Drinko Library makes available to students. She said the library continues to evolve every day, as well.

Harper said the utilization of the university libraries’ resources can broaden students’ ways of thinking.

“Especially with secondary resources or books, when students are able to read perspectives that differ from their own, it can help them see the world in a different way,” she said. “Maybe, in a way, they wouldn’t necessarily get to experience in their one-on-one relationships with other people.”

Palmieri agreed with Harper’s sentiments, adding how libraries give students the opportunity to work outside of their disciplines.

“For the most part, once you declare your major, you spend all of your time in that department,” Palmieri said, “but, at the library, all of the departments come together.”