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Sydney Umstead

Library books, consistency and preservation

By: Sydney Umstead, News Editor


Members of the philosophy club are preserving some of the discarded library books from Canisius in various empty rooms on campus in order to save some of the books that are being removed and put into bins for anyone to take. 


The Griffin has covered this ongoing story regarding the library in its previous editions.

Matthew Braden, a member of the philosophy club, came up with the idea to save these books after learning in August that these collections would be tossed, as Canisius plans to put a new Student Success Center on the second floor of the library. 


This has not been without its various challenges, including – but not limited to – the prospects of said unoccupied offices becoming reoccupied. “The school is technically aware that these rooms are unhoused so they decided to put coaches and exercise science professors in [Churchill],” the same place that Braden and other students have been using to house the abandoned books. 


The interview for this article was held in Churchill 707, one of the offices where books are being kept. 


For Braden, upon learning the books were being thrown out, it had seemed like someone was having “a wake for the books,” because of the empty shelves and disarray. Braden wanted to save them all, but due to the total number of books that will be removed being roughly 80,000 in total, that was not possible. 


Instead, as the weeks went by, the accumulating piles of books had become “a point of misery.” Braden then began to take notice of all the empty rooms inside Churchill Tower, where professors who are no longer at Canisius used to be. That is when he got the idea to use these spaces as “a point of refuge” for the books. He then connected with other club leaders on campus – including a member of the Undergraduate Student Association (USA) and a member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) – as a way to organize a small event and coordinate with library staff to begin the process of moving the books. 


When describing seeing the state of the books in bins, Braden stated, “It kills me.” He discussed how when envisioning universities as a child, and for anyone who “has a childhood interest in academia, there is a romanticized version of academics.” For Braden, his mother and grandfather were alumni of Canisius who would tell him stories of their time on campus. He discussed how when touring the campus two years ago, he was “stunned,” specifically by the collection on the second floor. He mentioned how he was enthralled by the library’s “original Latin text of Thomas Aquinas.” 


Braden acknowledged how being a 21st-century student has meant a large amount of education “has been through screens,” adding “which is fine.” However, he discussed how there is something “so intimate about having a token of every person who’s learned about something before you.” 


The vacant offices inside of Churchill have now been converted into spaces for books covering separate sections of philosophy which include: stem and metaphysics; justice, religion and morality; and one for general philosophy. Braden stated that he “wanted it to be a place where philosophy majors, and also people just taking philosophy, could go and be exclusively surrounded by that study.” 


Not including the second floor of Churchill Tower, various departments – namely the humanities – are placed in Churchill floor-by-floor, with departments typically sharing the same floor. Braden plans to continue a similar process on the tenth floor of Churchill for books on modern language and religion, as well as publications regarding political science and history; these will be on the sixth floor which is designated for offices of political science and history professors. 


Noting that he has “concepts of a plan,” Braden went on to discuss how he foresees navigating the new placement of professors into rooms that have already been filled with books. He stated that part of this would be “figuring out how many professors are moving here, so [he] knows how many offices are left over, and then corralling the books into those remaining offices.” He continued, “I don’t know. I just don’t want the books to go away.” 


President Stoute had quoted someone he met at RIT, saying, “Libraries are not museums for books. They are a place to foster learning,” as reported by The Griffin. Stoute then suggested that students learn differently “and so we have to adapt.” Braden, however, noted that “museums are where we learn,” adding, “I don’t really understand making a museum into a derogatory term.” Furthermore, he continued, “As an idealist, I’m aware that I’m a little naive,” and that there may be few people on campus who are “going into the second floor of the library and looking at a book just for the sake of it.” However, “the main reason I’ve collected these texts that are behind me is because a big part of education, and specifically philosophy, is that knowledge doesn’t come from the latest post, it comes from understanding where posts came from.” 


Treasure McClain, president of the philosophy club, stated, “Our biggest concern for the books is storage.” McClain continued with the statement that they do not believe the books have become outdated, stating that philosophy can be similar to history in the sense that “It builds upon itself.” Furthermore, suggesting that instead of removing the past, “we should be able to examine our past and have the ability to analyze it and critique it.” 


Braden acknowledged that readership is down, with many digital publications displaying how long it will take to read a piece, but ultimately – with saving some of the books from the library – he said, “If we are higher education, I think appeasing laziness and not reading is a terrible thing to do.” 


Braden then discussed how in a class he is taking with Professor John Kryder, adjunct professor in the English department. Kryder brought in Dr. Steven D. Schwaitzberg, the chair of the department of surgery at the University at Buffalo Medical School to speak to his class. Braden mentioned how Schwaitzberg told the class that “the best way to be an ally is with consistency.” Which, for Braden, relates back to campus. He stated, “We need to be consistent.” 

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