{"id":3147,"date":"2023-03-02T08:25:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T08:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.hertford.ox.ac.uk\/bridge\/?p=3147"},"modified":"2025-04-25T11:08:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T10:08:35","slug":"the-hert-felt-book-swap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.hertford.ox.ac.uk\/bridge\/the-hert-felt-book-swap\/","title":{"rendered":"The hert-felt book swap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Katherine Knight, Assistant Librarian<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite book is any which can fit in a pocket. This isn\u2019t just a sign of my diminishing attention span (though I\u2019m certain social media has done a number on that) \u2013 but in a busy life, the best kind of reading is that which gets done at all. I\u2019m often on a bus, so any book which can fit into a bag is a winner. If it can fit in a pocket, then it comes with me everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since arriving in September, I\u2019ve been delighted to find Hertford Library has a wonderful collection of playtexts \u2013 and I\u2019ve worked my way through Butterworth\u2019s Jerusalem<\/em>, Wade\u2019s Posh,<\/em> and Josephine\u2019s I, Joan<\/em> so far. I still carry my favourite \u2013 Annie Baker\u2019s The Flick<\/em> with me anywhere. When I\u2019ve needed something to keep me occupied, it\u2019s always Martin Crimp\u2019s electrifying interpretation of my favourite play, Cyrano de Bergerac<\/em> (complete with a moody James McAvoy on the cover). They\u2019re episodic, they\u2019re portable, and they\u2019re perfect. (And, unlike my phone, they don\u2019t run out of charge on my commute.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People often ask me if I think print libraries are fading \u2013 often people who haven\u2019t had time or cause to go to a library in years, because a quick trip to Oxfordshire County Library<\/a> quickly dispels that notion (as do the 52 copies of the latest Richard Osman book<\/a> they currently have out on loan). I tend to say that books aren\u2019t diminishing, but they are evolving. Ebooks are themselves amazing, bringing with them the promise of readability anywhere and everywhere \u2013 but again and again, we find that we\u2019re drawn to the physical copy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the reading naysayers, I would like to direct them to our wonderful Fellow Librarian Emma Smith\u2019s Portable Magic<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> but a book might be an unconvincing medium for someone who doesn\u2019t believe in the written word. Maybe the Matilda<\/em> film might be a better choice \u2013 it\u2019s quite hard to levitate an ebook copy of Moby Dick<\/em> towards you. But what better way to tell someone how in-demand the written word is than to show them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to the 14th<\/sup> of February, which was of course Valentine\u2019s Day, but also International Book Giving Day<\/a> \u2013 and the date of Hertford\u2019s inaugural book swap. College members were invited to drop off a copy of a book they loved, with a note explaining why they were enamoured with it, and pick up a new friend in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A student holds the book ‘The shed that fed a million children’ by Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow next to the Hertford Bookcase alongside a heartfelt dedication, written on a card.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Decked out with love hearts and dressed in a brilliant shade of baby pink, the book swap case certainly made a statement outside Hertford\u2019s Lodge. (\u201cIt\u2019s so cute!\u201d, as one passerby gushed as I walked past it at lunchtime!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The temporary bookcase at Hertford where book swapping was celebrated on International Book Giving Day (14 February 2023).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The event was a resounding success, with a huge array of volumes from students, fellows and staff hitting the shelves \u2013 with both non-fiction and fiction featuring prominently, and many classics including works by Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, and Matt Haig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was even better to see was the turnaround of books through the day \u2013 hardly any book which had been placed there in the morning was there by the evening, but the shelves were still teeming with books, proving that Hertford really is a community committed to sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time I left in the evening, there were still some stragglers reading the blurbs on the back of the remaining books \u2013 it was practically impossible to walk by without seeing what had changed on the shelves. Proof, perhaps, that even though the written word might be changing in form, our love for physical books remains. (Especially ones you can put in your pocket.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suggested Reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n