The Newcomb Reading room in the Glenn G. Bartle Library has always been one of my favorite places to study on campus.
The space is well-lit, airy and conveniently located right in between the Old University Union and the Student Wing, which means the Library is only a short walk to almost anywhere on campus. The Gourmet Bean right outside the entrance is basically just the cherry on top.
However, this year the University decided to change the layout of the reading room. They cleared out all of the wooden cubicle desks in the main study area and replaced them with huge shelves of microfilms. Essentially, the “new” Newcomb Reading Room is not even really a “reading room” anymore.
The new setup is horrifying, and when I saw the changes, I felt personally violated. The Newcomb Reading Room was my home away from home. I studied for all of my tests and wrote all of my papers there. I mean, how would you like it if someone unceremoniously decided to remove your desk from your room? And now, with most of its desks gone, it’s difficult to do anything there anymore. The University has basically changed what was once a functional study area into a giant storage dump.
What makes this even more infuriating is that they replaced the cubicle desks with, not something useful, but a microfilm collection. A *expletive* microfilm collection! Does anyone even use microfilms anymore? Do students even know what microfilms are? It’s such an antiquated piece of technology. It’s a lot more convenient and faster just to use the Internet, and a lot of the articles on microfilms have gone digital anyway, so why does the University even bother?
In other libraries, the microfilm section is in the back where it belongs, and it quietly gathers dust in peace, away from the light of day (which is probably a good thing because film lasts longer in dark and dry places anyway).
Now, I’ll probably have to find a new place to study and do my work because I’ll never be able to find a decent seat in the Newcomb Reading Room, especially during midterms and finals. Not as easy at is sounds: I find the other study areas on campus dismal. They tend to be either too noisy or too quiet. Think of the North Reading Room, where you can’t even turn a page without having a bunch of random people glare at you. Not ideal.
I just wish the University would at least build some new study lounges before taking one down. It’s hard enough as it is to find a place to study, and the dorm’s study lounges are very unreliable. Sometimes it’s empty and quiet, and other times there’s another person in the room and he just happens to be talking on his cell phone.
The new additions to the campus (Bingham, the outdoor extension of the Commons and CafÃ.é and the new Old University Union to name a few) are great; however, the University should also consider creating new study lounges, as they are things we actually need.
And for goodness’ sake, someone please return the Newcomb Reading Room to the way it was, the way it should be.