Students embarking on academic careers at Cal State Long Beach during the past year could plausibly pursue false advertising claims, as a critical lure to any institution of higher learning is the promise of a quality campus library. CSULB’s library has been under construction since summer 2006, and was supposed to be finished by November 2007, according to last week’s Daily Forty-Niner.
By making promises it can’t keep, the university loses credibility with a promotional practice that equates to deceit by omission. A more ethical tactic might be to say, “Our library is in sheer chaos, but it won’t always be that way, we hope, someday, perhaps. We just don’t know.” But that shrugging “over the rainbow” admonition won’t put cash in the till.
Recruiters have touted the merits of CSULB’s library to attract prospective students, who range from elementary school children to community college transfers. They share that, at the present time, library remodeling causes “mild” inconvenience, often providing a projected completion date and murmured promises that it will be fixed soon.
But for students attending after the project began, access has been little more than a nightmarish song and dance routine. Getting needed materials requires advance-planning time, which most faculty can’t build into their curricula. Frazzled library employees have to fetch books for patrons via the COAST system.
Part of the “sales pitch” is that the wait will be worth the pain when the community can again enjoy the state-of-the-art facility. In effect, our university’s outside-sales reps have given results-oriented misinformation to potential customers. They promise students and parents that The Beach has one of the finest research libraries in the CSU system.
This isn’t a complete fabrication. CSULB does have the product. Regrettably, though, it’s all in boxes, or restricted in areas marked “employees only.” Materials that are readily available (notably those reserve items that can’t be checked out) must be perused amid the din and dust of ongoing construction.
It isn’t until after students have invested future dollars by committing to Long Beach that they discover the bait has been switched.
Accessibility to a myriad of published material is the lifeblood of higher education. Roaming the stacks can be an important aspect of the learning experience. Sometimes a book within arm’s reach of a sought-after title is a more treasured find.
While a “virtual library” isn’t entirely without attraction, current students are paying to touch and explore bound print. That can’t be easily done using the “RSVP” method.
It’s inevitable that cost overruns and protracted deadlines on the $25 million makeover will continue to strain the CSULB community’s patience. Most students don’t care about, and certainly didn’t expect to pay for, a link to a “remodel page” on a library website that offers a “survival guide.”
When we bought our admission ticket, we thought it would get us through the library turnstile. At least that’s what the scalper swore.
