Four libraries facing closures

Several campus branch libraries may soon check out their last book. \nThis week confusion and rumors circled about the possibility of four individualized school libraries closing by the end of Summer Session II. The frustration climaxed Wednesday afternoon when students protested the closing of the African American Culture Center Library by organizing a sit-in at the AACC Library and marching to the Herman B Wells Library.\nRuth Lilly Interim Dean of University Libraries Patricia Steele did her best to assuage the anger. She said Thursday that the School of Library and Information Sciences Library is the only library that will permanently close its doors this summer. However, she would not specify which branch libraries the University is considering closing because she said not everyone has been informed of the potential closings. \nBut branch coordinators from the Journalism Library, the Geography and Map Library and the AACC Library said that they had all received notice of proposals to close their libraries two to three weeks ago.\n"I'm just dumbfounded that we have this tidbit of information," said Linda Butler, branch coordinator of the Journalism Library. "I know things are in the works, but I've known for almost two weeks and I don't see a general announcement."\nSteele emphasized that no other closings would be final until she had heard input from students and staff about the services they need. She said she had put together a team last year to look into the different branches and identify different service models. She said that because libraries are changing so dramatically, she thought that it was "time to take a good look" into the services libraries are providing and how well they meet the needs of students and faculty. The committee checked measures like gate count, circulation figures and computer use based on the number of log-ins at the different facilities. She said the results from this monitoring "revealed where (we) wanted to look."\n"It was clear which libraries had lower activity," she said. "You want to get as much return for your investment as possible, so you've got to start someplace. Our goal is to serve in the most economically feasible way."\nBudget issues seem to be one of the main reasons library administration has begun its investigation of campus libraries. Lou Malcomb, the head of IU Libraries Government Information, Microfilms and Statistical Services Department said administrators looked at the budget three or four weeks ago and realized there are "concerns."\n"We didn't get enough in the budget to continue operating everything like we do now and at the same time move faster into the digital world," she said. "These are some of the options we have, to look at facilities and services we're providing and see how we can transition better. We're looking at possibilities."\nLibrary administration hopes to start dialogue with the IU community this summer so it can have some ideas for further discussion and planning this fall, Steele said. Some of that dialogue will come from representatives of the AACC library, which has been issued a reprieve because supporters have agreed to stay to keep the library open during the summer. \nAnne Haines, branch coordinator of the SLIS library, said SLIS was active in the decision to close its library and that the decision came after much discussion. She said she had known the library would close since November, and that an e-mail was sent in December to notify the rest of the University's library staff that the library would be closing. She said that since the library is already located within the Wells library, the transition for SLIS students won't be too difficult. \n"They just have to go down the hall to get resources, so that makes it less of a hit than closing other libraries," Haines said. "It will affect some in the sense that they can't come in here and just say 'I want that red book for the class that I'm in.'"\nShe said the decision to close may have an "upside to it" because the space will still be used as an information commons for SLIS students. It will still have computers and tables and some reference materials that won't be allowed to leave the room.\nFor some branch coordinators, however, that upside is harder to see. Heiko Muehr, the branch coordinator of the Map and Geography library, said that he was surprised by the proposal because the library is "a very efficient operation." He said it's also convenient because it's located in the Student Building and serves both geography and anthropology students and faculty, as well as several local residents.\n"It is the IU library closest to downtown Bloomington and we get more use from Indiana residents than other IU libraries do," Muehr said. "(We get) farmers looking for plat books, genealogists, historic preservation professionals using our historic Sanborn maps, fishermen looking at Indiana lake maps, you name it." \nKelly Caylor, professor of ecohydrology in the Department of Geography, said that a resource like this library is "critical to the daily activity of (his) discipline." He said he uses the library to introduce his lower level classes to maps and methods of data collecting and uses the library as a way to share resources and readings with his upper level classes.\n"As disciplines become more specific and the diversity of data, journals, and other resources continues to expand, the need for a strong and vibrant branch library system will continue to be a critical factor for sustaining the intellectual vigor of the various academic departments which rely on them," Caylor said in an e-mail. "Losing these tangible connections to the historical and ongoing scholarship of our disciplines would be a highly unfortunate outcome of a system that evaluates utility based largely on revenue and costs."\nTodd Lindley, a grad student in the Department of Geography, said that if records show that the facility is not used as much as others, it's because the library works differently than others. Students frequently work in the library and do not check out resources. He said the facility is also valuable because of the reading lists it houses. He added that like all campus libraries, it serves as a delivery place for materials from other libraries, so students can request resources from other libraries without having to hike around campus to find the book they want.\n"As a graduate student in the geography department, I make use of the geography library nearly every single day," Lindley said. "Removing the map library -- and hence, the maps -- will eradicate a very valuable teaching resource from our department and campus. For geographers, removing the map library from the building is like removing a projector from an electronic classroom."\nStudents who frequent the AACC library, however, have a problem other than lack of convenience with the closure of their library. As part of the protest, students signed a petition and e-mailed a letter discussing how the closing of their library shuts out part of their culture and that this event is one of the many in IU's history that seems to be racially motivated.\nAfter their protest, Steele said she realized that to some, the existence of a library is more important than statistics regarding how much use the facility gets.\n"What was clear to me (Wednesday) was that the measures (used to judge library service) weren't the correct ones for all libraries," Steele said. "That's why discussion is important."\nSome have also been concerned because libraries are the largest employer of students on campus. The system currently employs between 700 and 800 students, said Steele, but she doesn't think it will have a big effect because some areas rely more on students than others.\nSteele assured that everyone would have a chance to voice an opinion and encouraged people to do so.\n"When so many people care and want to have a say it's hard to make sure that you've included everyone," she said. "In the end, as long as you're open and bring in as many voices as possible, you get to a place where both sides can have some satisfaction"