SINGAPORE: Library staff at the National University of Singapore (NUS) “did not realise” that students would be interested in excess books from Yale-NUS College – an oversight, said the university librarian, that led to hundreds of titles being sent to a recycling plant.
The college, which is scheduled to close this year, had been preparing for renovations ahead of the relocation of the NUS law faculty and its library to its premises, Associate Professor Natalie Pang told reporters on Wednesday (May 21).
As a result, the collection of 45,000 books at the Yale-NUS College library had to be moved. About 80 per cent – 36,000 books – were rehomed to various NUS libraries, other universities or given to faculty members.
The remaining 20 per cent – around 9,000 books – were slated for recycling as a “last resort” in line with common library practices, said Assoc Prof Pang. These excess books were duplicates or had “low utilisation rates”.
Of these, 500 books have been recycled, Assoc Prof Pang said. The process involving the remaining 8,500 was halted after photos and videos of books being packed into trash bags and loaded onto a recycling truck sparked outcry from alumni and students.
In a statement issued earlier on Wednesday, NUS apologised for an “operational lapse” in how the books were handled.
Separately, NUS provost and deputy president for academic affairs Professor Aaron Thean also apologised, saying he was sorry that the rehoming process had caused “so much concern”.
The university houses four million volumes of books across seven libraries.
“This is a big collection, and so any loss of books to us is always heartbreaking. I want to make it clear that all these books mean a lot to us,” said Prof Thean.
Assoc Prof Pang added that library staff did their best to retrieve the 500 books that had already been sent for recycling once they realised there was student interest.
“I was really aghast to realise that the books were being picked up by the recycling company despite students expressing interest.”
The library staff tried calling the company, asking it to turn back. “Unfortunately … it just wasn’t possible,” she said.
Related:
NUS apologises for ‘operational lapse’ in dealing with books from Yale-NUS College library
Alumni, students slam ‘disposal’ of books from now-closed Yale-NUS library
OUTREACH NOT “EXTENSIVE ENOUGH”
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