Resolution 98/99-08
Library
Over the past several months, representatives of the University's Information Services Division have worked closely with University faculty to address the most pressing issues currently faced by those who work in or with the University's libraries. These include: the overcrowding of volumes in existing facilities such as the Seaver Science and Doheny Memorial libraries; the need to offer consistent service at a time of reduced staff, space, and material; problems with electronic cataloguing and the retrieval of stored materials; and changes in the nature of research in an era of rapid (but still uncertain) technological development. These discussions have been rendered more urgent by the sudden need to design and complete the retrofitting of Doheny Memorial Library, a project that offers both great opportunities and serious dangers for the future of libraries and scholarly research at the University of Southern California.
In the spirit of these efforts, it is resolved that the Academic Senate urges the University to:
(1) commit to preserving print-based knowledge and to the scholarly and pedagogical enterprises that grow out of it;
(2) increase its central budget for the library, both for the purchase of new materials (in a variety of media) and for the support of librarians and staff members;
(3) coordinate plans for the "new Doheny" so as to make Doheny a welcome space for intellectual and cultural activities, while balancing this activity with the need to maximize the on-site storage of books, journals, and archival material;
(4) consider the use of a temporary structure during the Doheny retrofit to maximize the number of books and journals available to students and faculty for immediate perusal and circulation.
Resolution Number: 98/99-08 Motion by: Peter Starr
Date: February 10, 1999 Seconded by: Nelly Stromquist
To be presented at meeting held: February 17, 1999
Action taken: Passed as amended, with 20 in favor, no opposed, and two abstentions