IRIS Photos

North Campus Book Drop

Anne R. Kenney

The north campus book drop in the Robert Purcell Community Center has been in operation for just a week but, word has spread quickly of its availability. I’m not sure whether it was the ads in the Cornell Daily Sun, the infomercial on the Campus Store big screen, or the direct e-mail blast targeting north campus residents—or perhaps it’s just one very tuned-in, devoted library user, but Shipping & Receiving is now retrieving three tubs' worth of books a day from the drop. Each tub holds between twenty-five and thirty books.

The genesis for this service can be attributed to the Student Library Advisory Council. In response to a suggestion at a Council meeting last April that a book drop be placed on north campus, Sarah promised to consider installing special return locations during peak times, such as the end of semesters. The issue was referred to PSEC, which in turn asked the Ad Hoc Committee on Document Delivery to consider its feasibility. The committee came back late last year with a strong recommendation that a book drop be made permanently available and that Robert Purcell was the best place for it. This committee consisting of Howard Raskin (chair), Carmen Blankinship, Jesse Koennecke, Joanne Leery, Deb Lamb-Deans, Lydia Pettis, and Sharon Wargo, worked closely with Facilities to bring this about in a very short time. The Shipping staff in Olin has assumed responsibility for retrieving and discharging materials and then rerouting them to their owning libraries.

If patrons vote with their books, I’d say this new service is a winner hands down.

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