Editorial : SU makes right move by allocating more funds to library in 2012

The Budget Committee presented the 2012 budget for Syracuse University at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting, which revealed an increase of $900,000 in funds to the library system. After 2010, the yearly increase in funds will drop to $400,000.

The increase in funding shows the university and administration have listened and responded to the calls — from many faculty and graduate students and some undergraduates — for improvements to the libraries’ research materials and facilities. At a meeting that sparked polarized debate about SU’s reputation, the library’s rank of 89 out of 113 research universities, according to the Association for Research Libraries, was a rare point of clarity: SU must improve the state of the library if it wants to remain competitive with regard to faculty hiring and attracting top graduate school candidates.

The steps the university made in the 2010 budget and the work of library dean Susan Thornin in bringing attention to the needs of the library are commendable and require persistence. The annual $4 million Thornin suggested the library needs to meet the quality of its peer institutions is a far cry away from the one-time $900,000 increase.

This issue greatly affects undergraduates, too. The standard for research papers and theses can only increase if the resources undergraduates have access to expand. Likewise, professors should promote and students take advantage of the ever-increasing research tools and materials the librarians set up each semester.