Valentine’s Day is notorious for reminding people of their love life, or lack thereof, but students don’t have to spend this Valentine’s Day  alone. Perhaps a date with a book can help them find peace of mind on February 14th. 

       The Conifer High School Public Library is offering a “date” with a book this Valentine’s. How does it work? Simple! Pick a book that is wrapped up. The wrapped book has a short description on it to help you pick a book you’ll be interested in. Pick which book sounds interesting to you, and read it. Take a risk, and go on a blind date with a book.

       “We were trying to figure out how to promote books without kids coming into the library and without them touching the books” librarian Karen Macintosh said.

       Due to Covid-19 restrictions students are not allowed in the library. With this restriction comes a lack of reading from students and a lack of discovering new books. For students, a date with a book is all about discovering new books, but for the librarians, it’s all about helping students discover a love for reading.

       “Brenda, the part time Digital Teacher Librarian, helped me put it all together,” Macintosh said. “We just went to the book shelf and just started looking at books we thought students would like. It wasn’t any kind of special formula, it was just ‘that one looks good’.”

       The librarians are using this as a way to get students into the library more, and read more. The librarians want to set it up again, next time having students recommend books and wrap them. The librarians think that if students select the books it will help grow the book selection students have when picking their date.

       “I hope to do this every February,” Macintosh said. “And maybe even more during this school year, who knows?”