UGL is new home of libraries' reserve systems; budget cuts force change

By BRENT CUNNINGHAM

Reporter Staff

Budget cuts and space limitations have forced the University Libraries to consolidate their reserve systems in the Undergraduate Library.

The change has met with some protest and even a petition against it. The petitioners have noted that it will make it more difficult for those studying in Lockwood to access reserve material quickly.

Formerly, Lockwood reserve materials were held with the old "current periodicals" area, now occupied by microforms and newspapers. Reserve material currently is located at the circulation desk in the UGL.

Judith Adams, director of Lockwood Library, explained that this year's budget cuts to library personnel helped force the change. The need to consolidate staff led to the need to consolidate material, she said.

"It is very difficult to maintain print services and expand into electronic services while we have less and less to work with," added Karen Senglaup, director of access services.

In general, the petitioners appear sympathetic to the library's limitations.

"It is a considerable inconvenience for us," said Beth Dill, a graduate student in English who circulated the petition, "but perhaps not as considerable as the (budgetary) inconvenience the library is experiencing."

Senglaup agreed. "It is, indeed, an inconvenience to those on the Clemens side of campus," she said, "but we are out of physical space in Lockwood."

The consolidation, according to Senglaup, is part of a series of moves the library is making to try to free up space. Discussions she conducted last year with library patrons led to the impression that, in general, students who were using reserve material were not simultaneously using other library material, and therefore could do their work entirely within the UGL.

Both Adams and Senglaup were quick to point out the benefits of the consolidation.

"We hope in the future to have reserve materials available until 2 a.m." said Senglaup, "which is something we couldn't have done in Lockwood." The physical design of Lockwood, she explained, does not allow for one section to remain open after other sections close.

Adams added that it will be easier and cheaper to digitalize a consolidated reserve system.

"It was a difficult decision," said Senglaup, "but we honestly believe students are going to gain from this ultimately."

Dill was careful to direct her criticism away from the library and its staff, but said an alternative to the decision might be "worth fighting for."

"I feel the reserve system belongs in the graduate library," she said.

While conceding many of the library's points, Dill maintained that her petition is generating a beneficial and necessary discussion. Many people, she said, "are concerned that (the consolidation) may be a bureaucratic mistake."

Senglaup also welcomed the opportunity for dialogue. "It's good to have an article about it," she said. "It gives us a chance to explain our situation."