Editorial : Storage site marks major step in revitalizing SU libraries

Syracuse University will break ground for a facility to house 1.2 million volumes from its libraries in mid-October. The $5 million construction project solves one of the primary issues facing E.S. Bird Library — overcapacity.

The proposition of off-campus storage elicited protests from some professors and graduate students who felt moving volumes violated the core mission of a research university’s library — to house research resources. Protestors criticized the initial suggestion for a site in Patterson, N.Y., a location four hours away from campus.

Building a storage facility on Jamesville Road offers a compromise between the pressing need to move books and calls from community members to keep resources nearby. The project shows the influence students and professors can have on university issues when they are vocal.

Undoubtedly, a thriving library system sits at the core of a research university. The problems facing SU’s system — tight space, Bird’s flawed design, chemicals holding up basement renovations, underfunding — have seen slow but continuous improvement over the last several years, and the facility marks the most promising step yet taken.

But the new facility offers a short-term solution. Although it will bring shelving use down to the optimal 75 percent, Bird will inevitably continue increasing its collection until it hits overcapacity once again. The administration must see the new facility as only one part of the long-term project to revitalize the SU library system.

Fundraising efforts and awareness of the issues facing the libraries must remain at the forefront of the administration’s priorities, as the breadth, availability and use of research materials will always be a measure of SU’s academic vigor.