Comment by kristjansson
3 days ago
> the shelves were being cleared to make space—not for more books but for space itself. ... The new library has four floors. Two of them feature books
Despite the frenzy of building at most American universities, the library is forced to serve dual purpose as space for study and collaboration as well as repository of printed material. The collection is not managed on merely its own merits, but subordinated to the other, competing demands even on its 'home' turf.
Even going back decades, I recall major US university libraries served a dual function as having books, reference librarians, and serving as study and group work spaces. Maybe it's changed a bit but it's not new.
Dual use is definitely not a new thing; sacrificing the ostensible primary use for the secondary seems to raise the author's ire (and mine).
Yep, also meeting rooms for various clubs. My university genuinely had a wine tasting club that met in the library.