A poor collection of library books could hinder student research
Christina Heiser, Editor-In-Chief
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Editorials and Opinion
Over the last two years, I've seen the St. Augustine library undergo a complete makeover. Renovations made to the interior workings of the building, which often had leaks, were obviously necessary.
Other changes, including additional study space with new furniture and more computers on the third and fourth floors, have made the library into a comfortable place for students to sit and relax.
But while St. Augustine now looks a whole lot better than it did when I was a freshman, it falls short of being a successful, functioning research library.
If you've ever had to do research for an assignment at the St. John's library, you've probably felt a certain level of frustration; I definitely have. The major complaint that I've heard from other students, and that I've encountered myself, is that books that are available on the library's catalogue on St. John's Central are missing from the shelves.
When this happens, library staff members can visit the closed stacks to see if the book is located there, but most of the time they come back empty-handed. The library
staff had to get rid of and move around many books before the renovations began, and a lot of them seem to have been lost in transition.
Students are not the only ones who have felt the effects and have complained, though. Last semester, for example, I overheard a professor state that she requested a book from the Staten Island campus; each time, she
received an e-mail stating that the book had been delivered to Queens. But each time she went to pick up the book, which she said she needed for her dissertation, no one could find it for her.
Because research is a staple of almost any college class, having a functioning library that contains a large amount of material and meets the needs of its students and professors is an absolute necessity at St. John's.
For many St. John's students, the library is a place to hang out and get coffee between classes, so it is not surprising
Other changes, including additional study space with new furniture and more computers on the third and fourth floors, have made the library into a comfortable place for students to sit and relax.
But while St. Augustine now looks a whole lot better than it did when I was a freshman, it falls short of being a successful, functioning research library.
If you've ever had to do research for an assignment at the St. John's library, you've probably felt a certain level of frustration; I definitely have. The major complaint that I've heard from other students, and that I've encountered myself, is that books that are available on the library's catalogue on St. John's Central are missing from the shelves.
When this happens, library staff members can visit the closed stacks to see if the book is located there, but most of the time they come back empty-handed. The library
staff had to get rid of and move around many books before the renovations began, and a lot of them seem to have been lost in transition.
Students are not the only ones who have felt the effects and have complained, though. Last semester, for example, I overheard a professor state that she requested a book from the Staten Island campus; each time, she
received an e-mail stating that the book had been delivered to Queens. But each time she went to pick up the book, which she said she needed for her dissertation, no one could find it for her.
Because research is a staple of almost any college class, having a functioning library that contains a large amount of material and meets the needs of its students and professors is an absolute necessity at St. John's.
For many St. John's students, the library is a place to hang out and get coffee between classes, so it is not surprising
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