Library News
Take a Break with a Giant Crossword
August 22, 2024
Students looking for a place to study downtown often make their way to the Collaboration Zone just outside Steelcase Library in DeVos Building A. There, alongside flexible furniture, tables, and private study rooms, sits a three foot tall crossword puzzle on an easel. Some clues are filled in with crayon, others with pen or pencil. Sometimes a clue is crossed out and corrected, but most are a mix of different people’s contributions. During the school year, the crossword is completed and a new one appears every few days. In the summer it takes a bit longer to complete. The larger-than-life crossword puzzle is equal parts study room stress relief and community connector.
Bob McVay, the User Engagement Specialist for the University Libraries, is the force behind the large crossword puzzles. Tasked with finding ways to promote events and activities for library users that promoted stress relief and fun, Bob reached out to other institutions for inspiration: University of Michigan, Western Michigan University, and Wayne State. In the end, he decided to try to make use of what resources he already had in the libraries to engage users.
“I started with Sudoku puzzles, individual crosswords, and coloring pages in the Steelcase Reading Room and the Collaboration Zone,” Bob said about his role. “Then I thought of our poster printer, and how I could make the crossword really big!” The Curriculum Materials Library, located in the Steelcase Library, boasts a color poster printer for use by students. Bob printed his first crossword puzzle in February. “They’ve been the big hit,” he said. “I go through about three a week during the semester.”
Crossword puzzles are not all that is available to students at the Steelcase Library who need a study break. Bob regularly stocks the collaboration Zone and Reading Room with new Sudoku, origami paper and instructions for different projects, and coloring pages created by former University Libraries’ staffer Kiersten Quilliams and some from the Alumni Office. In September, Bob and his colleagues at the library are also planning some fun events, including Cosplay Maker Circles and a pair of Zine Workshops during Family Weekend.
