Michael Barkun, a political science professor at Syracuse University, remembers when there was no E.S. Bird Library. He said that when he came to SU, a substantial amount of the university’s books were stored in a warehouse on Erie Boulevard. The books could be available on a next-day basis.

‘I can tell you that it was not adequate. If anyone tells you that offsite storage is an adequate way for the holdings to be arranged again, I can tell you from personal experience that is not the case,’ Barkun said.

One of the topics addressed at the open library forum in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons in Bird Library Wednesday was a concern about the removal of literary collections to a location outside of the university was.

Officials from the library’s Department of Research, Collection and Scholarly Communication hosted the forum. Faculty, students and staff from several different departments attended to discuss the library’s recent halt in plans to remove books from its shelves.

The topics that were most discussed included the possible removal of literature to a warehouse in Patterson, N.Y., the space issues that resulted in the need to move the books, the actual role that the library plays for the university, and a general lack of communication between the libraries and the SU community.

Charlotte Hess, associate dean for collections, research and scholarly communication, said that even though the library has reached 98 percent of its capacity, final plans to move some of the library’s collections have not been finalized.

‘We haven’t started moving books,’ she said. ‘We haven’t signed a contract. Right now, we don’t have a plan, but at some point in the future, we will need to have a plan.’

The library explored as many as 16 different options, Hess said, including building a new storage facility on campus. She said she hopes that more open forums between the libraries, university administration and the community can help bring about an agreement on what to do with the books.

Barkun, the political science professor, brought up the issue of space in Bird Library. He said that if the space dedicated to things such as the library’s café were to be dedicated to book storage, it would help clear up space.

‘As far as the argument about space needs is concerned,’ Barkun said, ‘I think it would gain a more sympathetic hearing if it were not for the fact that a substantial portion of the library’s square footage has now been eaten away by functions that have nothing to do with the library’s primary mission.’

The construction in the basement of Bird Library was also a topic of discussion. Several speculated about what the space would become, including a larger office for the Office of Academic Integrity or for extra classrooms.

Hari Iyer, a junior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management who ran for Student Association President, attended the meeting. He said that the basement should be converted to study space.

‘If a student is so overwhelmed with work and can’t find a quiet study space, they’ll go to the library,’ he said. ‘There are just so many students, it’s unproductive.’

Still, the mission of the library should remain academics, Iyer said.

‘The university needs to offer students in the general university community the maximum amount of academic resources. There needs to be an ideological shift in what the university is doing right now to make that so,’ he said.

There wasn’t a definite answer at the forum for what the basement space would eventually be used for.

Some attendees of the forum said that the role of the library system has been skewed in years past. Some said they felt the library was taking on the university’s job of bringing together social and academic purposes in one building.

‘Increasingly, the library looks like an adjunct of the Schine (Student) Center,’ Barkun said.

Hess, the associate dean of collections, research and scholarly communication, said the main problem the library faces is a lack of funding.

Dale King, assistant dean of library administration, said most of the money the library spends on renovations isn’t enough.

‘I want to be transparent about our budget,’ he said. ‘Our budget is $17 million. Of that amount, $7 million is collections. Of the remaining amount, $9.3 million is salaries and fringe benefits. That gives us some money to do some projects here. We just don’t have the additional money. It’s shoe-string money.’

Several faculty members present at the meeting brought up the fact that communication, between the library and academic departments, is lax.

Wayne Franits, an art and music history professor, said that faculty currently doesn’t know what the library plans on doing with collections that are needed for classes and research.

‘A reason that the faculty is so concerned, if not upset, is that so many of these plans and changes to the building were enacted without any discussion with the faculty,’ he said. ‘I’m thankful for this meeting, but I’m lamenting the fact that this didn’t happen three years ago before everything was changed.’

English professor Sanford Sternlicht said that he agrees that there has been a lack of communication, but that the faculty is partly to blame.

‘Each faculty member has a responsibility to build the library,’ Sternlicht said. ‘So often I’ve heard people criticize the library. But they have nothing else to say. It’s our responsibility, too.’

smtracey@syr.edu

Published on December 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm