By Abby Knox, Staff Writer 

They say one should never judge a book by its cover; knowing it could be made of cake.  

To celebrate National Library Week, the McDonald Library staff hosted their annual Edible Books event where participants disguised their favorite books as cake. 

The imagination of authors and bakers was on display on the first floor of the Conaton Learning Commons. The food creations could have recreated something spoken about in the book, a food related to the title or an image that represents the book. 

“My favorite part is how much the Xavier community loves it. Even this past Tuesday, I had more than one person tell me it’s their favorite university event, not just a library event, but a university event,” Assistant Director of Public Services University Library and Xavier librarian Alison Morgan said.

National Library Week is an international annual celebration highlighting the importance of not only libraries, but also librarians, library workers and books. Usually held the second full week in April, this week-long celebration is a reminder that libraries are not just a place that houses books, but a place to engage with the community and gather together.

“I think (this event) is important because it highlights the values of libraries and books and reading, which I think are essential. People are so focused on what’s online and what’s on their phones. Libraries are facing a lot of challenges, whether that’s budgets or relevance. I feel like it’s such a celebration of how great libraries are and what we provide,” Morgan said.

As for the Edible Books event, this year there were nineteen submissions and three categories of winners: Best in Show, Most Creative Interpretation and Best Student Entry. Viewers scope out the food that they believe is best and then vote on their favorite. 

For Best in Show, mathematics professor Eric Bucher won with his “The Wild Robot” piece. This cake depicted a realistic-looking robot glossed with a silver, shiny exterior. The icing on the cake was the detailed grass as well as a bald eagle mid flight. Attendees said it was an eye-catcher.

As for The Most Creative Interpretation, marketing professor Karen Eutsler won with her “Tender is the Flesh” piece, interpreting the novel of the same name about a society that legalizes cannibalism after the animal meat is contaminated with a virus. “Tender is the Flesh” really took the cake realistic all by depicting a piece of meaty flesh all the way down to the detailed cellophane wrapping. 

 For Best Student Entry, the library’s own student worker Paige Gunther won with her “The Selection” piece. This cake came to life with the combination of a toy doll, a small piping tip and lots of time. 

The diversity in submissions is represented by the variety of genres chosen by all three of the winners. From a children’s science fiction book to a dystopian novel by an Argentinean author to a young adult novel, the event was a celebration of all the possibilities the Xavier library has to offer. 

“When we first started, we kind of imagined that the library staff would create the entries and people would come see what we made. Over the years, it’s morphed to where some years more people outside the library than even the library staff do entries,” Morgan said.