Torch

Issue date: 4/2/08Section: Editor Columns

Believe it or not, the St. John's library is more than just a place to pick up coffee before class. The sad thing is, most students don't know that.

Walking through St. Augustine Hall on any given day can be shocking, to say the least. Students talk loudly with their friends, take phone calls in the "quiet study area," or even bring food into research areas clearly marked with "No Food or Drink" signs. I've seen all of that, and it's always left me feeling disappointed. But while it's sad to see how disrespectful some students are while in the library, it's even more disheartening to think of all the students who aren't and never are in the library.

It's no myth that a large portion of St. John's students don't use St. Augustine Hall for academic pursuits. The demand to go to the library is simply not there, with only a handful of students populating the building on most nights.

The University seems to have recognized the need to revamp its library and has included St. Augustine Hall in its "master plan" of construction. Although plans are not entirely complete, the renovations will potentially create a Humanities Center and faculty offices, among other things.

But to do so, librarians must cut some books from its stacks, sending them to organizations such as Better World Books, an organization that sells discarded and donated materials from libraries across the country.

Many faculty members were up in arms over the University's policy of removing books, and were even more frustrated that they were not initially asked to help weed out the books along with the library staff.
Luckily, librarians - especially Theresa Maylone and Andrew Sankowski - are now aware of that frustration and have been extremely supportive of the faculty's efforts to now participate in the selection process.

"I am incredibly encouraged with the passion and interest the faculty have shown," Maylone told the Torch. "I think this is the beginning of an excellent communication between the library and faculty."

Professors I've spoken with - most notably English Department chair Dr. Stephen Sicari - agreed that the communication that is developing between faculty and librarians will be very beneficial.

But one question remains: why were professors not told about the weeding-out process earlier?

From what I've seen, the librarians are not to blame. They have been more than supportive of faculty involvement and appreciate that professors want to help them do their jobs. Granted, they did not inform all departments as soon as they learned that books needed to be removed, but that has luckily changed with the increased communication.

Continued...

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