By adam!!!

September 5, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this

Dear Suzanne, You are misinformed. Your point might have been valid if this collection was in main circulation through the Olive Kettering Library, but that was not the case. This collection was amassed by several individuals throughout the years, and was separate from the campus library. Yes, someone should have dealt with it before they were placed in the dumpster but that is no excuse for a blatant disrespect for knowledge and literature. It is a careless gesture that is perfectly in line with the universities treatment of the college… Yep.

By prose

August 30, 2008 11:32 PM | Link to this

I have no direct connections to Antioch College or Yellow Springs. I have a couple cherished friends who work and live in Yellow Springs yet, have never visited. I’ve been an admirer of the history and legacy of the city and school however, as a progressive and innovative center of educational eperimentation, academic innovation and excellence. This sad chapter concerning the caretakers conduct, and outlandish explanation for the destruction of books, prompts my comments from afar. I do not know Suzanne Gourlie except from her defense of the actions which were taken. I find them vacuous, devoid of compassion and with a strong hint of covering someones hindquarters. It seems clear, even from a distance, that this action was more than a blunder. You can’t explain away the destruction of treasure by bureaucratic “well intentioned” mishaps cloaked with a ” mistakes MAY have been made”. To this American it smacks of stupidity, carelessnes, anti-intellectual “book burning”. Despicably carried out and now being defended with indefensible gobbledy-gook. Or as Penn & Teller would say, “Bulls#$^!”

By Ed Hush

August 30, 2008 8:25 PM | Link to this

This IS sabotage, Antioch University has failed to keep their word on all promises that I can think of in regard to their closing the college. The University Board Of Trustees has been undermined by Toni Murdoch, the University Chancellor, and her staff, the AU administration in lieu of their own agenda. Toni Murdock has lied through her teeth repeatedly in public and puts the Antioch name to shame, destroying the brand and thus the institutions’ ability to make money. She has sought specifically with a two-faced approach to undermine the College and close it down with only evidence to the contrary that she truly expects to re-open it. Her staff has done the same. They have all violated the core values of the institution in this way, as can be noted by anyone who reads the Antioch College Honor Code. This is not just the destruction of a business, but of a community that helps in important ways to hold up the larger community of Yellow Springs. She and her compatriots, along with the Antioch University Board of Trustees are the only ones responsible for the destruction of the careers of so many community members, the well being of the YS economy and the good name of a historic and necessary in stitution of Community Democracy and Education in America. It will go far from unnoticed by the larger American public, I will see to it; I assure you all. The time of these immoral and criminal characters careers has come- and any semblance of community life for them will be marred until the end of their days with the horror of the truth in their actions and total unwillingness to cooperate and operate in an upfront and honest way. The lacking of integrity witnessed in the Antioch University Administration and University Board of Trustees should be public for the whole world to see. . . One Ed Hush

By Jan

August 30, 2008 5:56 PM | Link to this

Suzanne, all the arguments you present assume a functioning and active library. In this instance the case is different. For the moment, there is no “intended population” - the library has been closed. It is my understanding that no effort was made to find alternative means to remove the books other than tossing them in the dumpster. Apparently there were many folks who would gladly have taken custody of them until such time as their final disposition could be determined. We should be grateful that as many were salvaged as possible. Thank You to those who grabbed them and are finding places to store them!

By beastmomma

August 30, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this

That is horrifying! I cannot believe that the student groups were not even given notice.

By Judith Ezekiel (a different "Judith")

August 29, 2008 6:55 PM | Link to this

I am a feminist historian and follow debates and discussions about what to do with collections. The first point is that the University has claimed that the College is to be re-opened. Furthermore, there are still on-going negotiations of the College becoming independent. Why, then, are they getting rid of any library collections? It sounds like sabotage to me. P articularly since the experts who should be consulted on this have been laid off. Second of all, college libraries are different in nature to public libraries and do not get rid of collections in the same way. Here, apparently, they have thrown out the card catalogue too. This indicates a radical process, not just taking away specific duplicates or books no longer useful. Finally the archives of a Women’s Center, particularly of a historic institution like Antioch and one so interconnected to women’s history, have intrinsic value. This is yet another shameful example of the disregard for all that Antioch has represented. If a serious process determined that these books and archives should be taken out of the Library, then I’m sure that many libraries, archives and organizations would be glad to receive them, from New Orleans to many other countries in the world. Best Judith

By Monica

August 29, 2008 6:27 PM | Link to this

Those of us who know the backstory know that this collection was valued by the alumni community, and that its relocation to a Dumpster was an act of violence against the College by a University intent on matricide. Alumni were not given the option of rescuing these books. In fact, they were told point blank that there were NO books left in the Union, that they had all been saved. This is just another example of the University’s disregard for the Antioch spirit and its outright lack of interest in education. Take heed, ABOT, AU, we are watching. We will not forget. My money goes to Non-Stop, an organization that carries my values. The University will never see a penny.

By jafabrit

August 29, 2008 3:54 PM | Link to this

Suzanne, the population (very small)was never offered the chance as far as I know. I saw no ads in the paper or anything, no word of mouth. Things get around a small town like this fast, and free offers are always being placed in the paper or placed on the side of the road with a BIG FREE sign. :(

By Page Turner

August 29, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this

When my local public library withdraws a a book title due to lack of interest, they attempt to sell the book at a weekly library book sale. This helps raise funds for the library and provides a way to get that book into the hands of someone who wants it. Books deserve a chance to prove they are truly undesirable before going the dump.

By lmj

August 29, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this

My local library has a book sale twice a year which is a combination of library discards and donations from the community. We sell books for two days (coming up the beginning of October). At the end of the sale the remaining books are divided according to where they are best disposed of. Some go to Goodwill, some to our local homeless shelter/soup kitchen, some to an on-line selling company and some to a used bookstore. The only books we EVER throw away are those which are stained, mildewed, or have other dis-booking condition. But when we throw those few books away, we remove hardback covers and dump the remaining in the recycling bins (which also net our library money).

By Mark Heise

August 29, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this

Suzanne, I can say with some certainty that the offer was not made to the Alumni of the College nor to anyone of import in Yellow Springs. If you knew the Yellow Springs community at all you would know that any number of residents would have jumped at the opportunity to keep the collection in tact, including the original donors. That said, you bring up some good points of ways to dispose of unwanted books without sending them wantonly to a landfill. At the very least, Antioch University’s self-acclaimed commitment to sustainability and the environment should have prevented that at all costs.

By victor mickunas

August 29, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this

Suzanne, thanks for posting. You seem to be quite knowledgeable about how libraries dispose of excess books? Are you a librarian? If so, do you consider it a normal practice to toss large quantities of books in the dumpster? Yellow Springs is a very small town. Usually when people have excess books, record albums, etc. here in YS they place an ad in our local paper to offer the excess materials to others. This is a simple way to dispose of these excess items without throwing them into the landfill. I read the YS News every week and I have never seen an ad offering these materials to others? Would you expect a library to make that minimal effort to find homes more useful than a dumpster for this material? I would have responded to such an ad and I think many others would have also responded. That would seem to require minimal effort and it would have created some good will in the community? What do you think?

By Suzanne Gourlie

August 29, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this

While it might make for dramatic footage (?), it is much more likely these books were removed due to lack of use by the population served, not because of an “utter disrespect for education, the Alumni, the College and it’s legacy” (as indicated in the previous comments, and inferred by the videographers and Vic). The laws of physics limit the growth of any physical library, whether private or public. Consider what would happen if you never ever threw away your own magazines and newspapers and books, and continued subscribing and purchasing new materials for the length of time and with the current space limitations of the Womyn’s Center Library. You do not have funds for expansion; you are required to keep your collection not only within the limits of your budget, but also relevant, accessible, and current. I hope you get my point. Part of any library staff’s responsibilities include making decisions about what is still of value to the community and what no longer pulls its weight relative to other parts of the collection. I know of no librarian who would wontonly delete and throw away a copy of a book that is either still in demand, or that offers unique information not available in any other source. So if you want to blame someone for making the collection smaller, you need only look in a mirror. Usage of a library’s collection is a community activity. Relevance is relative to the interests of users. One of the criteria for considering withdrawing a title from a collection is the usage of that material over time; another consideration is if the same information is available in another format or another title. Most if not all of the titles listed in the video are likely either available in an online format or database, or in an updated version of the same book. It’s also quite possible those titles are all so specific and academic they’ve never left the shelf since they were added to the collection. Knowledge is indeed power. But this video does nothing to inform or educate anyone. Presenting misinformation and personal interpretations of actions as indication of polices and attitudes is a disservice to everyone. Information on collection development policies is available at your local library. Please aquaint yourselves with them. Finally, it is possible these titles would have sold at some sort of online auction, or been accepted as a donation to a used book store or similar Womyn’s Studies collection. You don’t know whether or not these offers were already made within either the YS community or the greater academic community. It might be they were turned down, precisely for the same reasons mentioned earlier. While the video might offer some entertainment, it disrespects the work of those who are doing their best to maintain an important collection within the limits they are given.

By victor mickunas

August 29, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this

A dumpster full of books…I would have been glad to have them!

By Kristine

August 29, 2008 11:11 AM | Link to this

Another fine example of the complete lack of respect that the University has shown to the Alumni, the College, and its legacy. Thank you for sharing this Vic!

By Page Turner

August 29, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this

What a travesty! Whoever dumped these books demonstrates an utter disrespect for education. If the people who were charged with keeping these volumes didn’t want them any more, surely they could have disposed of them in a more appropriate manner. How about donating them to someone or some other institution? How about giving them to a used book store or asking someone to sell them on Amazon?