Being literate can be defined two ways. Of course, being able to read is the basic definition of literacy. But literate also means having a knowledge or understanding of the readings and writings associated with a topic.
While you may have a superb memory that negates your need for reference books, most of us will only retain the larger idea of whatever we are reading. Thankfully, at UNC, we have many libraries with all the books you might need. But what happens when you leave UNC? How does the active reader stay knowledgeable on a topic when we don’t have access to massive collections of books?
Well, first of all, public libraries remain an under-utilized resource for almost every community. Graduates should join a library the moment they move into a new community. Here you can have access to your favorite books and references.
Secondly, you can build up a personal library. We all know the pain of paying $50 for a book, and only being offered $3 for it at the end of the semester. Why not just keep the book if it has useful information?
We know books are expensive, but hopefully, if you think creatively, you can find cheap and easy ways to access them. Heck, you can even check out a local used bookstore.
You’d be surprised how often information from old classes can be useful in everyday life. Looking back at the books may be a good way to learn more about a subject, prepare for a trivia night or see how your interpretations of the text have changed since you first took the class.
Ultimately, the more books you have access to, the better equipped you are to continue reading challenging academic works after college. Once you have the books, set a goal for yourself to read a certain number of books in a year.
We are only in college for a short amount of time, but developing a good reading habit early on will be something you can keep forever.
