Sad Stacks
Do you ever look at your library’s collection and feel like the parent institution has let you down? I was inventorying some curriculum materials this morning that had been overlooked during the last system rollover, and as I was scanning in these books, I was overwhelmed by how many of them were so outdated as to be wholly unnecessary/wasted space. As I said, I work in a college library in Oklahoma, a state well-known for its failing public schools and maltreatment of teachers. This failure is evident even at the collegiate level, when even the library that is meant to support the shaping of newly emerging educators doesn’t have relevant collections to reference and utilize. If it were up to me, I would have withdrawn most of the materials, rather than ensuring their addition to our current catalog. I’m embarrassed to know that these materials will sit on our shelves indefinitely, disappointing students who may come along looking for the latest editions (or even an edition from the last 10 years). I know I’m new to this library world, but today’s discovery just bummed me out.
