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Leisure Reading Collection

This guide will help you find books for fun reading and general interest in the Leisure Reading Collection located in the northwest corner of the stacks on the upper level of the Galvin Library.

Location

The Leisure Reading Collection is currently located in the northwest end of the stacks on the upper level of the Paul V. Galvin Library.

 

There are also three branches of the Chicago Public Library nearby:

Bee Branch 3647 S. State St.
King Branch 3436 S. King Dr.

Harold Washington 400 S. State St.

For information on Chicago Public Library cards see: https://iit.libanswers.com/faq/337573

 

What is leisure reading?

Take a break from studying!
Leisure reading which is also known as recreational reading or independent reading is for those times when you're looking for something fun to read or something of personal interest. It includes popular fiction and nonfiction books as well as magazines, etc.  Leisure reading has been known to reduce academic stress and increase reading comprehension among it's many benefits.

 

"It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it."

      --Oscar Wilde

What should I read?

Many people pick books by favorite genre. A genre refers to a type of book that falls into a certain category characterized by subject matter, style, tone, time period, and various other factors. Some books can fit into more than one genre. A mystery can be set in present day,  in a certain historical period, or even the far future (Sci-Fi). People can also pick books by favorite authors since authors tend to favor writing within a certain genre.  To avoid confusing their readers, some authors will even publish under a different  name if  they write in different genre.

In college libraries that use the Library of Congress classification scheme, fiction books are not shelved by genre.  Except for graphic novels (PN6700-PN6790), books are shelved in the literature section divided by the author's country of origin (language in which they write even if translated) with a separate category for juvenile/young adult literature (PZ). Within each country section, the books are catalogued and shelved  by author's last name and include books both by and about the author and his works. Since some books may be both in the regular stacks  (especially classics) as well as Leisure Reading, random browsing may not always be easy.  We hope that this guide will be of some assistance.