Underfunded library in need of aid

editorial cartoon by Christian A. Lopez
editorial cartoon by Christian A. Lopez

Have you ever walked by Wilson Library at night and noticed that the top windows of the library have a shadow even though there’s no light present to create one? And if you look at them during the day, there’s that same shadow in the same place. Why hasn’t it moved even though the sun has?

In case you haven’t already figured it out, the windows are really paintings of windows.

With the incredible amount of money students pay every year for tuition, you would think that the University of La Verne could afford to put real windows on the library. Students pay $18,000 a year, yet they are forced to use an underfunded library.

So what? Fake windows. At least the painters did a good job. But what about the rest of the library, the part that matters- the inside. This is a case where the saying ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’, doesn’t apply. I mean take a look at the inside. Let’s take a tour of Wilson Library, as we attempt to do some research.

You walk in the door and go to the computers to search for books on a certain topic. Alright! You found one … wait a minute. Status: not available. So you try another. Nope. Status: not available. Well, there has to be more books on this subject. Guess not, cause the list only has two items. Oh, but you can always try the LINK+ system, which will take a couple of days.

In the meantime, let’s check out some research on the computers, if there’s one free. Type in the subject. The screen says ‘downloading’ so you wait. You pull out your notebook, a pen and some paper. Still downloading. You doodle on your paper. Still downloading. You go to the bathroom, go to the Spot and catch up on some sleep. The screen says , ‘one item remaining.

By the time the information downloads, the library will be shutting off its lights.

So you might think, “Well, maybe the computer was wrong. I’ll go check the shelves.” You find a book related to your subject, and as you open it you glance at the publishing date, “1947”. That’s great if you are doing research on George Washington, but what about subjects that require recent information like AIDS. You can’t even research World War II without using a book dated that far back.

So you close your book. As you recover from the dust cloud from it, you walk back to the computers to look up related areas. Happy to find some books with related subjects, you head back to the shelves. E345.9, E346, E988. Wait a minute, what happened to all the numbers between 346 and 988? Missing.

ULV needs to take into consideration its graduate students, especially those in the Ph.D programs who are paying a lot and need ample resources.

Also take into consideration that we are a liberal arts university, therefore we should have the necessary sources to learn from.

Maybe the university could increase its allocations for the library’s budget.

Or maybe a fundraiser is what they really need. Also, students should be able to make requests for what books the library buys.

This said, it is important to recognize the very positive thing that keeps students coming back to the library: the librarians who are willing to accommodate and help students out on a daily and nightly basis.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

Christian A. Lopez, Staff Writer
Christian A. Lopez

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