Vermont State University said it will maintain more physical books in its libraries, amid sustained backlash against plans to adopt an “all-digital” library system.
In a “refined plan” posted on its website Thursday, the university system said it would continue to keep some popular and “academically valuable” books in the libraries across its campuses.
The system plans to keep roughly 30,000 books across five campus libraries, according to Sylvia Plumb, a spokesperson for Vermont State University. That figure is roughly 10% of the approximately 300,000 items in the current collections.
“The refined plan expands upon the original concepts to address the concerns identified by faculty, staff, and students,” Plumb said. “This is a natural and expected part of the input and operational process.”
The moves appear to be an attempt at concession to critics of the plan, who have mounted a fierce campaign against upcoming changes to the libraries and sports programs.
Under the new plan, Vermont State University, or VTSU, “will maintain volumes that have been accessed or checked out between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2022 and have been deemed academically valuable by the academic department chairs and the Provost.”
VTSU will also keep a small collection of “popular, casual, reading books” and children’s books in the libraries, administrators wrote. Community members will be able to access those books through a “‘take-a-book, leave a book’ honor system.”
The campuses will also keep a part-time library assistant at Castleton, Johnson, Lyndon, and Randolph, and will hire student workers. The move would still eliminate seven full-time positions, as administrators said earlier, but “several new part-time jobs will be available,” Plumb said.
It’s unclear how much the “refined plan” differs from the original plan. Plumb said in an email that the savings from the updated plan would be an estimated $500,000, “consistent with the original plan.”
And administrators have previously said that the libraries would continue to keep some books, although it was unclear how many.
Linda Olson, a Castleton University professor who represents a faculty union that has fought the decision, said she did not feel reassured by the new plan.
“I don’t really feel differently about this,” she said. “I still think they blindsided us.”
Three institutions in the Vermont State Colleges system — Castleton University, Northern Vermont University and Vermont Technical College — are undergoing a transformation into Vermont State University, scheduled to officially launch this summer.
Last month, VTSU announced plans to downgrade its libraries and sports programs, amid what administrators have described as a $25 million “structural deficit.” By the fall of 2023, the university’s libraries will transition to an “all-digital” model and the physical spaces will be repurposed, administrators said.
Meanwhile, sports teams on the system’s Randolph and Johnson campuses are slated to be downgraded.
Sports programs at the Johnson campus — currently, part of Northern Vermont University — would leave the National Collegiate Athletic Association and enter the smaller and less-competitive United States Collegiate Athletic Association. The Randolph campus, now part of Vermont Tech, will leave the USCAA and offer only club sports. Those changes are scheduled for the fall of 2024.
Those changes sparked immediate controversy, leading to protests, petitions, “no confidence” votes, and charges of unfair labor actions.
VTSU administrators have apologized for how the changes were communicated, but up until now, they have declined to backtrack on their plans.