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THE FISCAL WATCHDOG
NEWS ANALYSIS By ADAM CALVERT The Terrapin Times Features Editor |
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With only a month until finals start it might be around that time where you find yourself spending countless hours in the library, researching for that killer exam or paper. And when you go to find that one book that will make your paper complete, you find that it’s not on the shelf. It’s not because another, more ambitious classmate checked out the book before you did, it’s because the book was growing mold and had to be shipped away. Recently, the university has been neglecting the heating and cooling systems in McKeldin Library and other branch libraries, causing major problems with many collections of books and other library materials. From August 22nd through September 16th, problems with the heating and cooling system in libraries has caused “almost $14,000 worth of damage in moldy books along with thousands of dollars to bring in dehumidifiers to correct the problem”, said Yvonne Carignan, head of the library preservation department. In the months of August and September, almost 700 books had to be shipped away for cleaning as well as countless others that were cleaned by university staff. Cleaning these books not only costs money, it also consumes the time of the university-paid preservation staff. Because of the problems with heating and cooling, “The preservation staff has not been able to accomplish any of the other projects that were planned for this semester”, said Carignan. Members of the facilities, work control, and industrial hygiene staff have also spent considerable time dealing with climate control problems. On September 8th, inadequate heating and cooling caused members from these departments to mop, wet vacuum, and place fans and dehumidifiers on floors 4-7 of McKeldin Library. After all of these problems occurred, the University has corrected some of the heating and cooling inadequacies, but not all.
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Anyone walking into the Art Library will notice the three large containers, filled with water and decorated like a small pond, complete with lily-pads and other greenery. Leaks in the heating and cooling system are causing water to drip through the ceiling. It is leaks similar to this that caused thousands of dollars worth of damage and countless hours of time from university staff. These leaks are draining both dollars and time from the university as well as taking off the shelf the one book you might need for a final or a research paper. The Fiscal Watchdog urges the university to put in the investment now for proper heating and cooling systems and replacing leaky roofs. It will not only put a permanent fix on being unable to find that book you need, but it will put a more permanent fix on the problem. Sure, money spent on damaged books here and there may seem less expensive than doing those repairs. But over time, it is much more cost effective if our university invested in its own resources in the proper way.
After all, it’s your
money.
In times of budget crunches for the State and the University, this column serves to point out what students and other members of the campus community consider wasteful spending as well as what we can do, on an individual level to cut down on spending costs for our University, to ensure that each dollar spent is used wisely. If there is some important matter that you would like the Fiscal Watchdog to call attention to, please let us know at: Editor@theterrapintimes.com |
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