On Wednesday, I got up earlier than usual, so I could get to campus from Austin to participate in the Book-it Brigade. What is the Book-it Brigade? The Book-it Brigade was a human chain to pass six books from Old Main, where Texas State University first housed its library, all the way to the Alkek Library, which opened in 1990. This particular Book-it Brigade was to celebrate those 25 years as well as reenact the first Book-it Brigade that was done when the Alkek Library first opened.
While I wasn’t even living in Texas when I was ten years old, this celebration is extremely important to me for three reasons. First of all, the Alkek library is where I discovered that I want to go to grad school for Library Science and Information Technology. Secondly, this is my final semester at TSU. I will be graduating in December, so getting the chance to be a part of this huge, wonderful event to celebrate my all-time favorite library is a big deal for me. I still get a little choked up thinking about it. Getting emotional is also due to my third, but most important, reason: the Alkek Library is why I chose to attend TSU.
There are lots of reasons to apply to a university, and a few of them were secondary reasons, after the fact, for why I was glad I chose TSU. However, how many people do you know who went to their university for the sole reason of wanting to have access to the library? Well, when I found out the Alkek Library was seven football field sized floors stacked on top of each other, and it housed over 2 million books, my jaw dropped, and my decision made. I have not once regretted that choice.
Here’s to 25 more years of the Alkek Library!