Library experiences decline with physical books

October 17, 2017 — by Mathew Luo and Howard Tang

Despite a lack of student interest in physical resources, librarians work hard to maintain their collection of books. 

Sophomore Riya Kalra remembers one time scanning through the bookshelves of the library that holds nearly 20,000 physical books for information on foreign policy. Upon finding her book, she was surprised to see that the last time the book was checked out was 1965.

“I think the fact that the book’s last check out date is older than my parents speaks volumes about the quality of the library catalog,” Kalra said. “Major updates are necessary for students to see it as an actual source of reading material.”

Such experiences and attitudes are typical of the culture surrounding print materials such as books, magazines and traditional newspapers these days.

Retired librarian Tibor Szalay, who worked here from 1977 to 2002, had first-hand experience with the huge changes of the library and students’ attitude toward physical print materials such as books, magazines and textbooks.

Szalay recalls how in an earlier era the library used to be extremely rich in print magazine subscriptions. Although the magazines the library owned used to be put out on racks for students right next to the conference rooms, the library has stopped subscribing to print magazines since 2011, and now archives and stores them on databases.

“You could go into the shelves and browse to your heart’s content,” Szalay said. “We almost had more magazines than some junior colleges do. Sometimes the racks’ spaces got too small so we had to put the overflowing magazines on a wall; we often had a whole wall full of magazines.”

Due to the incredible pace of technological progress, digitization rapidly occurred after the library acquired its computers in 2002. The ever growing popularity of technology and relative lack of interest in reading has caused the physical books in the library to become less used than in previous generations.

“Print material is dying and it’s visible in the school library,” Szalay said. “It’s a pity — when you have a book in your hand, there exists a relationship between the person and the book, and with technology you just don’t have that.”

According to current librarian Kevin Heyman, roughly 1,000 physical books are checked out every year. With the fading away of traditional print, the library’s staff mostly assists students and teachers with research work and helping out with the distributing and organizing the 32,000 textbooks in the library houses and tracks for classes like chemistry, English and math.

The librarians continually replace damaged textbooks, which wear out eventually because of constant use. In addition, every few years, old texts are replaced with newer, more updated ones. Replacement costs for individual books vary from $15 to $200, Heyman said.

While the library’s physical book collection is not used by all students, the library staff still carries out its mission to ensure its collection is accessible and up to date for the student readers.

For example, the staff chooses popular books that are displayed by section on shelves scattered throughout the library. In addition, the staff makes a special effort to display books of high reader interest near the front of the library for checkout. On a recent day, those included titles such as “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky and “Juliet Takes a Breath” by Gabby Rivera.

Old and obsolete books sometimes have to be discarded in a process known as “weeding” to create space for newer books, which are constantly chosen, bought and then displayed, Heyman said.

Despite these efforts, some students have suggested removing a huge section of the books the library currently houses, effectively converting it into a larger study space.

“The library should hold a book fair, remove the shelves of books that are just sitting there and put in more tables and room for students,” sophomore Alex Mah said. “Something like an extended tutoring and student center, which is quite popular and very helpful for students.”  

However, the library continues to be useful for students and staff in more ways than just the physical print. The wide space of library is often used for school board meetings, faculty and community meetings and college presentations — it’s among the biggest open spaces on campus.

English teacher Susanna Ryan believes that the decline of physical books has not doomed reading and that the decline in physical books is due to the sheer ease of access that digital technology provides.

“I still see freshmen read in class after they are finished with their assignments, even though I haven’t assigned my first IR project yet,” Ryan said.

 
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