It Was Nice Knowin’ Ya, Special Branch Library | From the Bell Tower

Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA -- Library Journal, 10/22/2009

College students protest all the time. The administration decides to ban smoking on campus, let’s have a protest. Textbook prices are out of control, let’s have a protest. The dining halls need more healthy options, let’s have a protest.

Since the sixties the student protest has become a time-honored tradition for demonstrating against decisions that are viewed as unpopular or to affect needed change. We academic librarians probably ignore most of these protests that are happening on some other campuses. But a recent protest at the University of California Berkeley deserves our attention because students were protesting the closure of a specialized branch of the academic library—and the library administration wasn’t even talking about a permanent closure —just Saturdays!

Another one bites the dust
Hard economic times for higher education have accelerated the permanent closure of smaller, specialized branch libraries. They are typically a target for both cost savings and achieving economies of scale. At my own institution, multiple branches on the main campus were closed four years ago, including several science libraries that were consolidated and an education library that was shuttered. While there was no economic crisis at that time, closing branch libraries is one way to achieve greater efficiency.

With campus space at a premium, Deans often covet special library space in their buildings for labs or classrooms. Now the closing of these special branch libraries is becoming more commonplace at research universities. UCLA is considering closing its art library. MIT recently closed two special science branches. The University of Washington closed several libraries earlier this year.

I want my branch library
Specialized science libraries at research universities seem particularly vulnerable. With their collections going primarily digital and their user communities having far less need to visit the library for print materials, they are obvious targets for consolidation or integration into the main campus library.

A good example is the relatively new Frank Gehry designed science library building at Princeton University, which consolidates the collections and staff of the astrophysics, chemistry, geosciences, biology, mathematics, and physics branch libraries. Perhaps because it involved a fabulous new building, the loss of individual libraries at Princeton was more palatable to the campus, but at many other institutions the closing of a branch library can invite everything from organized protests to personal reactions of “Why did they have to go and close my library”—and both can lead to bad feelings about the library that persist for years.

Caught in the middle
What’s a librarian to do? Despite knowing that closing these specialized branch libraries is sure to disappoint or even enrage their remaining users we often have no choice. If it isn’t budgetary pressure, then it’s pressure from a Dean who wants the space, or a Provost who thinks one mega-library is more convenient than lots of small ones.

But sometimes even we know, given declining usage measures, that supporting a small, specialized outpost of the main library is a losing proposition. In such cases the best strategy may be to help our users understand the rationale for the closing, emphasize potential benefits, and offer any accommodations we can to soften the blow. Ultimately, no matter what measures are taken when closing a library we may end up as the bad guys. It’s true, a strong community protest may encourage the administration to give a doomed special branch library a reprieve, but given the budgetary landscape lately that is the rare exception and nowhere near the rule.

Just a fond memory
It’s fun to think back today to all those library practices or technologies that were important 20 or 30 years ago, but which are all but obsolete today. When is the last time you used a CD-ROM to help someone find information, set up a modem and communications software, or required a student to take a training session before he or she could search one of your databases? I can’t help but think that when librarians 20 years from now contemplate those things that once defined our profession, the specialized academic branch library will be one of those things on the list of what was once important but no longer defines what it means to be an academic library.

Steven Bell is Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.  For more from Steven visit his blogs, Kept-Up Academic Librarian, ACRLog and Designing Better Libraries or visit his web site.

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