CatSwap Books Could Help Students Save Money on Textbooks Next Semester

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 20, 2018) — A small group of freshmen in the University of Kentucky Student Government Association Leadership Development Program have started CatSwap Books in The Hub at William T. Young Library.

CatSwap Books, created by Brennan Dodds, Natalya Hippisley, Haley Holthaus and Amy Keith, is a student organized textbook exchange. The idea is to help supply textbooks for students on a tight budget by donating used books to the CatSwap bookshelf.

“Students often struggle to pay hundreds of dollars each semester for books, and they ironically also struggle to get rid of them,” Dodds said. “This program seamlessly merges acquiring and donating books, and does it the right way — for free.”

The idea for CatSwap Books derived from the Leadership Development Program’s $100 Challenge where students are tasked with providing a small meaningful action to address a large need on UK’s campus while using a limited amount of funding. Dodds, Hippisley, Holthaus and Keith partnered with Jennifer Bartlett, library administrator and interim associate dean, to get CatSwap Books up and running in Young Library.

Students interested in participating in the book exchange or donating used books can contact them by email at catswapbooks@gmail.com, visit the CatSwap Books website or stop by The Hub, located in the basement of Young Library.

UK’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) is a freshman program organized and facilitated by SGA to help build future leaders. The LDP allows students to participate in activities and events including shadowing major student organizations, participating in service activities, hearing from guest speakers within the university and local community, and offering them the opportunity to represent the freshman class as a group of highly involved future leaders.