I walked into the large room late Tuesday evening, unsure of what I was doing. I had never been in this situation before, and I could feel the eyes of others in the room staring me down as I neared my destination.

The area was decorated with cute Valentine’s Day decorations, which made sense given the circumstances. These people did a good job setting up the ambiance.

My eyes caught the word “British” written across the forehead of my new victim, and I was sold on that factor alone that it was going to be a good evening considering London is my favorite city in the world.

I took my blind date, picked him up with one hand, and took him to the front of the room. I was exceptionally proud of myself that it was turning out to be a successful evening. I sat him down on the counter, told the kind woman behind the counter that I had made my selection, and she scanned him so I could check him out for two weeks.

I was on a blind date with a book.

The library has started a new program this month that involves checking out certain gift-wrapped books and writing a review about the read after finishing the mystery book. 

In addition to getting a chance to discover their new favorite book, turning in the review to the library doubles as an entry in a raffle to win a $50 gift card to the movies.

“We thought it would be fun to do since it’s about to be Valentine’s Day,” Kady Ferris, a librarian in Munday Library, said.

Students have reacted positively to the concept, checking out books from the librarians’ selections for their own blind date with a book.

“It’s a creative way to get students to be interested in checking out new books in the library. I’ve never checked out a book from this library, because when I come it’s to get resources for research, not so much for checking out fun books,” Natasha Rondao, a junior communication student, said.

Ferris said it was the first year the school has thrown a themed event like this. The idea of blind dates with books is not unique to  the St. Edward’s library, though–several school and city libraries around the United States have also created their own version of the trend. Ferris said that the book blind date program has been more popular than the Munday librarians imagined it would be. 

“We started out with 30 books and we’ve gone through about two more rounds of that. Right now, we have about 70 books checked out,” Ferris said.

Some students said it was the uniqueness of the blind date concept that initially captured their interest and encouraged them to check out a book.

“It caught my attention because you get to read a new book and it’s a cool way to experience a new genre,” Marilyn Lore, a junior communication student, said. 

The program will continue through Feb. 28. All students, staff and faculty can participate.