The Library

The absence of individual responsibility and integrity among the students of this university is evidenced by the hundreds of books and journals which are stolen from the university Library every year. It does not matter that a student knows himself to be personally blameless of such thefts. Until every student accepts the responsibility as his own to safeguard the integrity of the library collection, by whatever means are available to him, then the thefts will continue and an ever larger proportion of the library's budget will be expended on replacement thus diminishing the amount of money available for the purchase of new books and periodicals. Unless each student acts as he should the standard of the whole library must inevitably decline.

Another instance of the neglect of an individual responsibility is evident in the library. The library is clearly overcrowded at the moment, but need it be? Many library places are 'reserved' by piles of books and notes for periods ranging from a few minutes to several hours, while the owners are in a lecture, or the cafe. The irresponsibility and lack of courtesy and concern for other library users, evident in this action, is compounded when the plight of the many students too timid to remove the offending chattels, is considered. These people, fearing the wrath of the evicted party, are forced to study under hopeless conditions on couches or the floor, or instead resort to scouting the library for ages, seeking the occasional vacant space.

The library need never be overcrowded if its itinerant occupants clear a space as they leave and find another upon their return. Present library rules prohibit the reservation of spaces but this equitable injunction can only be effective with the co-operation of every individual user recognizing his personal responsibility to the others.