Fairfield University’s plan to add six classrooms and remove study spaces and 65,000 volumes of books from the top floor of the DiMenna-Nyselius Library is still in motion, according to a group of professors leading the opposition to the renovation plans. Although no official statement has been released, faculty state that the plan will result in approximately 10,000 books being discarded has led to increased opposition from students and faculty.
Committee chair and Public Health professor Jennifer Schindler-Ruisch, PhD, says she has been in contact with offices around campus, including the Provost and the Academic Council, to better understand “the tremendous impact of this construction.”
“I strongly believe in the importance of the library and value the monumental impact it has on our Institution and academic mission,” Schindler-Ruisch said. “The Committee is working to try to support efforts to preserve the books, reimagine study spaces and show gratitude to the incredible library staff. Our hope is to brainstorm and support creative solutions to help mitigate the impact of this project as much as possible and protect the strategic vision of the library to support students, faculty and the entire campus community.”
News of the proposed renovation first broke last month after library staff was told of the plan, as reported by The Mirror. In the following weeks, faculty and students spread the word of the renovation and expressed their outrage.
English Professor Sonya Huber, PhD, created a Google Doc titled “Save the Stacks!” and a Quip document also made the rounds among the campus community. These each acted as de facto petitions in which students and staff shared information and opinions regarding the plan to renovate the library.
Now, a more formal petition has been created as updated information becomes public. The petition, which has amassed 652 signatures as of April 22, mentions that the plan “will result in discarding at least 10,000 books.”
Previous statements from concerned faculty members noted that the proposed renovation would result in about 65,000 volumes of books being “replaced.” To clarify the amount of books being affected and to inquire if plans would be changed due to the opposition, The Mirror reached out multiple times to Jennifer Anderson, Vice President for Marketing and Communications. However, she did not reply to The Mirror’s request for comment.
Furthermore, there has been no official communication to students regarding the library renovation. Thus, The Mirror clarified with professor Dr. Marice Rose, one of the faculty unofficially standing against the renovations.
“My understanding is that they need to move 65,000 volumes off the second floor, and of those 65,000, at least 10,000 will be thrown away,” Rose said. “Others will be stored or put somewhere else in the library.”
Although The Mirror has not been able to independently confirm these numbers, Schindler-Ruisch confirmed this information, while noting that the plans are still somewhat unclear to committee members.
“Organizations like ‘Better World Books’ cannot re-home or recycle books on such short notice,” Schindler-Ruisch said. “[Stacks] D-G would be moved downstairs. The Curriculum Collection kits will be moved behind the access desk. The oversized books will be moved to the low shelves on the stop of the stairs. Storage units will be purchased to house printed journal collections while they can be more carefully reviewed over the course of a year or so. Several thousand titles will be replaced with e-books/subscriptions.”
In response to the news that books will be discarded as part of the renovation plan, English professor Elizabeth Petrino, PhD, shared her thoughts in the petition.
“It’s hard to understate the significance of the library for research and for fostering among undergraduates an understanding of scholarship,” Petrino said. “Without access to its materials, many of which are not digitized, the scholarship many of us do will be severely limited. We are also asking our librarians to take the untenable moral position of making a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ among the books in the collection. Please find an alternative to throwing out books and reducing [our] students’ quiet study space.”
Other comments in the new petition included one from sophomore Gillian Graham, who wrote: “Please do not get rid of the study space; the library is already so crowded, it’s impossible to find a seat most days. The third floor is my favorite to study on.”
Another student who signed the petition, senior Max Cozzini, said, “The library is the backbone of Fairfield University.” He further noted the consequences of the proposed plan.
“Getting rid of essential study spaces and precious books and library materials would be detrimental to the Fairfield community.”