Does the thought of expanding your book collection leave you disappointed due to the lack of funds? If physical copies are what you’re after, then allow me to provide a solution.
Whether you’ve seen staff open the library for the day pulling these to the front or just happened to pass by them on your way to class, you may have noticed these book carts of varying sizes carrying books of varying genres. It is as the signs posted on them have said, these books are 100% free! Due to a slight influx in inventory, the Library has decided to leave the books that aren’t eligible for donation for the BMCC public to take!
Some of the titles put out are exceptionally old, and I find that exciting. Imagine the potential history you could be holding every time you pick up a book from one of these carts. There are Young Adults, middle readers, and picture books if you have children in your life, anthologies of poetry you may have never read before. You may even get lucky and find something that you need or can help you in your classes!
For one reason or another, the majority of people are turned off by casual reading. Books may be too expensive, someone may find the act of having to return a book they checked out too daunting, and there might even be some resentment due to reading books a person had no interest in for the sake of an essay. The Free Book Carts give students the chance to curate their own reading experiences without the dread of deadlines.
Friends of avid readers, the perfect gift is waiting on one of these carts. You can pick out something they would like or bring them along with you. If you’re someone that’s actually trying to decrease your personal collection; we understand. You have the choice of donating books directly to the BMCC Library or simply putting them on one of the Free Carts themselves.
Before I became an official student at BMCC, I was taken on an informal tour through the main campus by a friend and we came across these carts for the first time. We stopped and I was able to find a textbook with the subject surrounding the psychology behind sexuality. Needless to say, I snatched it up immediately. I was able to find something related to my personal interests completely by chance. I go back every now and then to see the new rotation of books put out. Just last week, I found the last installment of the “A Wrinkle in Time” quintet of all things. That book probably got picked up by someone wanting to complete the series because it wasn’t there when I went back for it.
If this post has inspired you to go out and find your own hidden gem, then allow me to encourage you to share your findings with us! Take a picture of the books that caught your attention and tag @bmcclibrary so we can celebrate your new read with you!
