Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1983)
More than a symbol The University library is more than a symbol of scholarship. It is the lifeblood of research for the social sciences and humanities. We are the only institution that offers doctorates in the social sciences and humanities in the state. Our library is in poor shape. The students can't always get help, the paint is peel ing, periodicals have been cut, the budget is not growing and the books are decaying due to an inadequate climate control system. Though the library budget has not been allotted less dollars in the last few years, the library’s funding problem stems from a real budgetary decrease throughout the 1970s when inflation and the poor exchange rate of the dollar (the University has the largest collection of foreign publications in the state) started eating away the services and collection. And nothing was done to stop the withering of Oregon’s only member of the 101 academic members in the Association of Research Libraries in the United States and Canada. Last year the University library was rated 92nd by ARL in number of acquisitions. We are improving a bit, however, the year before we were 99th out of the 101 — a rating increase of seven. Just an historical note: We added about half the number of books last year that we did in I962. Roughly, the University acquired 60,000 volumes in I962 and 30,000 in I982. Another notable indication of how we rate is the ratio of student to professional (librarians with master degrees) and professional to classified staff. By all measures the University is highly dependent on student work study employees. They are a cheap replacement to professional and classified staff. The University library computerization is 1960s vin tage Library-users know the library has poor ventilation and is over-heated. The books are literally baking. The conglomerate edifice known as the University library is really three structures: the original building built in 1937 and two additions built in 1950 and 1966. Each has an air-handling system without climate control. The temperature cannot be finely adjusted to preserve books. Perhaps the final testing of an academic library is the study service it provides. Yet, for undergraduates and graduate students in the social sciences and humanities — not to mention professors, the ambience of our library leaves much to be desired. The library was last painted in 1966 The number of desks and tables is decreasing rapidly. Even with the pre sent poor rate of book acquistions there will be no desks left for students in 10 years. Enough. So what can be done for our beleaguered library? Well, some things are being done. For the first time, a special account of several thousand dollars is being used to buy duplicate reserve books. This small amount might help students actually get to read that over-sought reserve book. Then there’s the problem of space. Desks could be pushed closer to the poorly-designed let-in-no light win dows. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Education Manage ment housed on the first floor should be moved and the entire library returned to the library. This must be cheaper than building an extra wing. A portion of the maintenance budget must be ear marked for the library. The plaster is falling on students in the downstairs eating room and the newspaper reading room. Let’s get some paint. The librarian says it takes about $50,000 to paint a building that size. If the University can’t afford a contractor, the ASUO, or some other student groups could organize a volunteer effort to paint the main rooms this summer. The student government needs to direct lobbying at tention to the state of the University library. Just as the University has special fund-raisers for the Ducks or a new stadium, a private fund-raising drive just for the library needs to be undertaken. Programs such as the 1982 graduating class donations are just the icing. Our library needs capital to be competitive again. The $1 million allocation to state system libraries proposed in the governor's budget would be an obvious place to start soliciting money for the University library. Again, the state board needs to understand the impor tance of the University library over others in the state system. The quality of our library Is in serious question. And without a quality library we cannot be a quality university. (X MR. NIXON, THIS 1$ IKE ERECTOR UP IN M SOOTH - MOW, MR. PRESIDENT, RRIbURlVSHCW tETSTRX LOOKING SIRW6HT>T^^... OXER HERE,,. IT. OK,NOW LETS TRY ^SMIlS... C'NON, A REAL SINCERE.. SMUT OK. NOW LOOKBWX atimb LENS AT THE LENS... Sje.mK ssk* Vownmjtoe... perhkk $l> COULD iW R%Afct> OUST A Bit... JUST AM, Overcome Regarding David Cree’s Feb. 17 letter, “transients” — yes, I have looked around the cam pus and I am overcome with consternation. I vehemently agree that a “tragic injustice" has trangressed. The victims — the discarded transients. Many so-called “transients" once enjoyed the social in teraction of the TV room. There was alv ays a warm, friendly person who had time to listen and share his thoughts. I agree, Cree, that the TV room should be reinstated, but not as a release for marginal students, like yourself, to ra tionalize their classroom in adequacies as you suggest. Bring back the TV room as a cultural forum for persons with alternative backgrounds to freely interact in an unstruc tured environment. As you drive down the road of life, Cree — seeing the world with the sterile, em pirical eyes of a physicist, the hope is that you collide head on with destitution and have to rely on cruel, pseudo erudite individuals like yourself. Shawn Montoya aanlor, political aclanca Ridiculous This year's IFC, with the ridiculous brouhaha it has created, has done a fine job proving to the students what an egotistical and ignorant committee it has become. Last year I had the privilege to serve on tne very same committee Within one week, I realized that the committee serves as a Oregon daily emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald it published Monday through Friday eicept during esam week and vacations, by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co . at the University ol Oregon. Eugene. Oft. 97403 The Emerald operates independently ol the University •nth offices on Ihe third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and it a member of the Associated Press Meets and Editorial 640 5511 Dfsptey Advertising and Busines• 6*6 3712 Classified Advertising 6464343 _ 644-4341 444-4511 Editor Managing Editor News Editor Assistant News Editor Editonai Page Editor Photo Editor Sports Editor Associate Sports Editor Entertainment Editor Night Editor Attociitl Editor! Higher Education Departments and Schools Student Government Features Politics Student Servtces/Corr.munity Allans General Stall Advertising Manager Classified Advertising Production Manager Control ter Harry Esteve John Heaty Marian Green Cort Fernald Joan Nytand Sob Baker Mike Riplinger Paul Danzer Jonathan Siegle John Healy Sandy Johnstone Frank Shaw Richard Burr Sean Meyers Michele Matassa Aieta Zak Darlene Gore Sally Oljar Victoria Koch Jean Ownbey stage for bureaucratic pretenders playing psuedo government. However, we were able to get our work done without supplying the Emerald with a “Laverne and Shirley"/"As The World Turns" scenario. The all-time classic episode this year has got to be Dianne Ritterband-Mason’s gutless act of reversing her vote on the American Advertising Federa tion's budget after the pro gram director had already left the room. Dianne, if you’re go ing to be so wishy-washy, at least have the balls to stick to your decision once you’ve made it — and get a real name while you're at it. My advice is that we take all the money that is allocated for the stipends of these seven power-hungry children and hire a computer programmer to write a program that would allocate our student fees to the various groups, based on the number of students the group actively reaches. At least this way, if the com mittee still wants to continue its soap opera-like meetings, they can do it on their time and not our money. But do keep covering the meetings, it's entertaining to read all the hoopla and start the day off with a laugh. Robert Payne Junior, telecommunications Senator policy I appreciated your recent editorial critizing Sen. Bob Packwood for his lack of sup port for the Nuclear Freeze. It appears, however, that something he said was misinterpreted. I believe his statement regarding "selling" nuclear weapons to Europe was misunderstood. The United States is not go ing to sell nuclear weapons to Europe. I suspect what Packwood was referring to was “selling” the idea of deployment to the European people. In fact, unlike most NATO nuclear weapons in Europe, the European allies will have absolutely no control over the Cruise and Pershing II missiles. They will be under complete U.S. control. The decision to fire them will not, ultimately, be in the hands of the Europeans. The logic of this policy is that the Europeans want the United States to be responsi ble for the nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, thereby en suring a Soviet attack on the United States. This is a policy referred to as "coupling," wherein the defense of Western Europe is linked directly to the survival of the United States. This will ease the fear of Europeans about U.S. plans to wage “limited” nuclear war in Europe. It at tempts to guarantee that any Soviet attack on NATO will result in world-wide holocaust. This is the nature of the “security” provided by Packwood; to push the work to the brink of holocaust, but not over the edge. If this policy fails to make you fee! "secure," let Pack wood know Tell him to support the Nuclear Freeze, and to oppose deployment of Cruise and Pershing II missiles in Europe. Tom Lynch Citizens Action lor Lasting Security
