Libraries

UND, my former employer, seems to turn so many issues into giant controversies. Now, the debate concerns the future of the library. I am on the side of change. I do use the library, but do not go to the library. One of the benefits of my emeritus status is library access which I can exercise at a distance. I use the library as much from Wisconsin as I did from North Dakota. I do not count walking through the library when I had to walk cross campus in the winter as using the physical library.

Online access to journals is great. Toward the end of my career, I would use online access rather than get up from my office chair and walk over to the book shelves. Aside from the inactivity which should not be encouraged, pdfs of articles allowed annotation, storage and organization much better than the highlighted journals on the shelf. Online resources can be access from anywhere and prevented the constant problem of my leaving journals in various places some never to be seen again. I did not stop paying for the journals even though I did not use them. I had the lawyer vice of showing off my scholarly materials as a show of my qualifications. You do grow out of this. I am glad that the library offers access to pretty much any journal I want to read online. It is not practical to purchase these same journals in hard copy and why store them on library shelves when even my personal copies do not receive my attention.

Books are a far different issue. Libraries simply cannot keep up with my needs and I am certain this is the case for many scholars. Many of the books I read are important to me in order to comment on the message these books send to K-12 educators. The value of these books will come and go and there is no reason to invest for the long term. I cannot expect the library to invest in my needs. I understand some books are of lasting influence, but who can make the decision when these books are first being heavily read.

The problem with libraries is that they are expensive and becoming more so. This creates a downward spiral in value. Libraries cannot cover the cost of necessary resources and scholars use them less and less as the coverage declines. With budgets so tight and scrutiny increasing, I see no solution.

I believe in social learning environments. For me, this has long been a coffee shop with good wifi access. In retirement, I estimate I spend 20 hours a week in such a setting. I do not offer this number to impress. It simply what I regard as the academic life style. I think libraries must accept the reality of this commitment to a learning environment. I understand some academics focus their time on dusty old books, but I must think that this is a minority.

Does UND need a dean of the Chester Fritz Library? I think the increasing ratio of administrators to working professors is a scourge on the productivity of universities.

Foyer of Library at Texas El Paso (I was impressed)