Wide selection of cookbooks on offer at culinary arts centre shop

Books at the pop up library |Photo: Imeka Ibeh / The dialog staff

For the second year George Brown College students will have a pop-up library at the centre for hospitality and culinary arts at 300 Adelaide St. East.

Even though the pop-up library will only be around for a few months, it’s already seeing a lot of use by students.

“The whole idea is bringing the library to the students, instead of the other way around,” said Chris Walsh who is the interim liaison librarian for George Brown College.

Walsh said he decided to open a pop-up store in the school mainly because culinary students sometimes do not walk across the street to the St. James A building. So he opted to bring the library to students in the chef school. Walsh said it’s a perfect concept because they had more people sign out books from his little pop up than in the actual library across the street.

“It’s really successful,” said Walsh. “In this role I get to spend a certain amount of money on just cookbooks so I’ve chosen to feature all of the new cookbooks that are available because a lot of students don’t even know, first of all, that we have brand-new beautiful cookbooks at the library here at St. James.”  He came up with the idea of a pop-up shop that looks like a retail store to feature all the titles.

Walsh reads a lot of publications written for librarians and came up with the idea last year from an article in a newsletter. He then ran his idea as a pilot that same year, which went really well. He had five pop ups running in the winter semester and  strongly feels it’s a really great way to promote all of the new books the school brings in.

Walsh will be also be selling books that are retiring from the library, such as used books, older textbooks and cookbooks for $1 or $2.

“This money we get from selling those books goes right back into the library, (and) back to the students,” said Walsh.