Leisure Reading
Roesch Library offers opportunities for students, faculty and staff to read a variety of popular books and mainstream magazines and newspapers. Reading for pleasure is a positive habit we support.
Please complete this brief anonymous survey about your reading habits so we can continue to improve this service.
The main collection of leisure reading books is located next to Roesch Library’s first-floor lobby. You’ll see a section of books associated with the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the first and only annual U.S. literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace.
Search or browse the collection on Roesch Releases.
The Cameron Corner is a collection of books and a comfortable reading nook, located in the northeast corner of the fifth floor. The majority of the books belonged to the late Alex J. Cameron (1937–2003) an English professor at the University of Dayton and the official pronouncer of the Scripps National Spelling Bee from 1981 to 2002. The space was established to honor Cameron and his love of reading.
Another service of the University Libraries is providing online access to publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Wired and more.
Porch Reads is a book club exclusively for undergraduate students at the University of Dayton. Benefits include free books, free food and lively discussions. For more information or to sign up please email porchreads@gmail.com.
How does this all work?
- Browse online or in person for a title or search by title in the library catalog.
- Once you’ve found a book, you may check it out using your UD ID at any desk on the first floor or by using the self-checkout machine by the elevators.
If you are unable to locate a specific title you’d like to read, please ask us! Alternatively:
- Search the title in either the OhioLINK or SearchOhio catalogs.
- If it’s available through either service, you may request the book, and it will be shipped to Roesch Library free of charge.
- You will receive an email when it arrives.
- Pick up the book at the Hello desk in the lobby and return it to Roesch Library when you’re finished.
Scott West highlights bestsellers, award winners and reading opportunities available to patrons of Roesch Library's leisure reading collection.
Librarian Zachary Lewis helped select 82 inaugural titles to establish OhioLINK’s diversity, equity, and inclusion e-book collection.
Camila Sánchez-González '23 reflects on one of the new sustainability-themed titles in the leisure reading collection. She shares what she thinks about the book, the history behind “healthy eating” and more book recommendations.