Falling in Love in the Library

Did you fall in love in Love Library?

If so, the library’s administrators want to hear from you. Submit your story and you could win a prize to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The promotion is the idea of Gale Etschmaier, who took over as dean of the university’s Library and Information Access last June.    

"'Did You Fall in Love in Love Library' is a campaign to try to reconnect people with San Diego State University as well as with the library," Etschmaier explained.

A panel of judges will select winners, with an announcement on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day.

Etschmaier said she was looking for a way to highlight the importance of the library in the lives of students and alumni when she and some staff members passed two women and a child in the library’s donor hall.

“One (of the women) said to the other, 'so you fell in love in Love Library.' It was so exciting I had to stop her and ask her about her story,” the dean recalled.

“It was a typical situation where she and her husband were studying together and that's where their relationship formed," she said. "They were studying for finals. It was a stressful time, but that relationship supported them through their academic development."

Relationships that last a lifetime

As Etschmaier sees it, there's a thin line between academic growth and social development. She believes an ability to function well socially is as critical to a student’s educational success as what he or she learns in the classroom.

“The library is one of the last central places on campus where people really do have that kind of connection,” she said. “In addition to being the most important learning environment outside of the classroom, there's a lot of social development that occurs. 

“People come to the library to study together. They come to the library to work in groups on projects and in that work they form a kind of intellectual community, but they also develop relationships that can last a lifetime.”

Whether it's a friendship or romantic relationship, Etschmaier said the campaign is a way for people to remember the role SDSU played in their social development.

A special anniversary

The campaign is also a tip of the hat to Love Library’s 40th anniversary in 2011.

"Tying the whole campaign with that anniversary is something pretty special and for the future we think we can continue the theme in lots of fun ways, so we're very excited about it," Etschmaier said.

For prizes, the library staff is contacting hotels and restaurants around San Diego to set up dinners for two. 

They’re also planning a Valentine’s Day campus reception to include refreshments, live music (love songs, of course) and a magic lantern show featuring the Love Library’s collection of 19th and 20th century magic lantern slides. Winning stories will be shared at the reception.

If you fell in love in Love Library, submit your story in 300 words or less by Feb. 3. Please include your name, contact information and years you attended San Diego State.

Did you fall in love in Love Library?  Submit your story now!