Author: Donovan Dennis
Nearly 2,000 years ago, the great Roman philosopher Cicero wrote, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Thus, any question of Occidental College losing its soul in the wake of numerous controversies has been confirmed by the planned removal of thousands of books from the Academic Commons. According to the Academic Commons’ website and an Occidental Weekly article from Oct. 22, the library plans on discarding 40 to 50 percent of the print collection currently housed on site. Even more surprising than this draconian figure, however, is the blasé attitude of college administrators believing a top-performing institution no longer needs an in-house print collection.
Proponents tout the plan as an example of college’s futuristic mindset: Occidental, yet again, setting the standard for higher education in a digital age. The problem with this vision, however, is that the Academic Commons deems it necessary to abandon print resources in order to advance into the digital age. The student body can no longer endure continued shortsightedness from college plans which inadvertently inhibit the educational experiences of many. Once again, administrators have alienated the student body in order to drag the college by its neck into the 21st century, disregarding any student opinions.
The plan for a newly-envisioned Academic Commons includes beautiful, shiny new learning spaces filled with the latest technology and gadgets. There will surely be focus groups and task forces established to decide which of the latest devices to include, and panels and pamphlets encouraging questions from potential donors. In the ensuing eagerness, the soul of the Commons – its beautiful book collection – will long be forgotten. Advocates argue that via the miraculous Link+ network, students will have access to all of the same books as before with the added benefit of more space in the library.
Should Occidental wish to maintain its status as a top liberal arts college, it should not be removing books while peer institutions across Southern California deign to lag behind in the inferior 20th century and keep these same volumes within their collections. In fact, according to The Occidental Weekly, many ousted books will be sent across the city to UCLA for inclusion within their libraries, citing their ability to “house more books.”
A permanent, diverse and expansive book collection is fundamental to the existence of an engaged student body. Digital collections, though easier to access from afar, oftentimes come with numerous complications foreign to an in-house library. Servers crash, Internet connections fail and computer software needs consistent updating and maintenance. Retaining our current print collection not only preserves Occidental’s academic integrity but also insures against the numerous complications and shortcomings of an Internet-based library.
Oftentimes, one of the most fundamental insights into a personality can be discerned by a person’s personal book collection. Stripping the college of both its soul and personality will detract from the academic experiences of its students. Once again, it’s time to remind the college that student success comes first, and that students need books.
At its core, a liberal arts education signifies the commitment to ideas, objects and pursuits regardless of contemporary trends in higher education. In order to aspire to be a true liberal arts college, an institution must maintain well-rounded curricula in the arts and sciences while demanding the same of its students, even in the face of national trends encouraging specialization in one discipline or another. We should hold our library collection to the same traditional standards, retaining our monographic collection while entering a period of digitalization.
Donovan Dennis is a sophomore History major. He can be reached at dennisd@oxy.edu or on Twitter @WklyDDennis.
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