The “OUABooks and Beyond” event will be held at the Orton Hall library, located near the South Oval, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Credit: Nicole DeFabio | Lantern Reporter

Students looking to tap into their creative side are invited to Orton Hall’s library from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday for a night of book-themed crafts as part of the Ohio Union Activities Board’s “OUABooks and Beyond” event.

According to OUAB’s website, attendees will have a chance to decorate bookmarks and create custom book covers, as well as receive a voucher for a purchase of up to $25 from Barnes & Noble with a valid BuckID, while supplies last. 

Elliot Brown, a third-year in arts management and the project lead for OUABooks and Beyond, said she hopes the event will serve as an escape from students’ scholarly demands, allowing them to reconnect with their inner childlike wonder.

“I hope students will remember that we’re still kids at heart,” Brown said in an email. “We are not only students pursuing opportunities, connections and newfound careers, but we also like to have fun and keep that imaginative spark alive, even though we’re getting older.”

Brown said inspiration for the event came from her childhood memories of attending book fairs at school, which she said ultimately contributed to her passion for reading.

“Many of us loved and grew up with the Scholastic Book Fair as kids,” Brown said. “I loved the book fair as a kid, so just seeing the excitement with announcing it to campus really warmed my heart and made me even more excited for the event than I already was.”

Stephanie Houser, director of OUAB’s Visual & Fine Arts Committee, said she shares Brown’s love of reading. Additionally, she said organizing a book fair-inspired event on campus has been an extremely gratifying experience.

“It is exciting to see everything come together, to put together a book fair of sorts,” Houser, also a fourth-year in English and philosophy, said in an email. “I have gone to many [book fairs], but to do it from the other side is invigorating and rewarding.”

Houser said OUAB thinks partnering with Barnes & Noble for the event was the best option for increasing students’ access to affordable reading materials.

“We wanted a way to provide students with free books,” Houser shared. “Barnes & Noble works closely with [Ohio State] already, and they were able to provide us with the quickest, easiest and most reliable way to get vouchers for students.”

Houser said students can redeem their vouchers at any Barnes & Noble bookstore, including the campus location at 1598 N. High St.

For more information about the event, visit OUAB’s website.