Western Illinois University is laying off all of its library faculty as the administration strives to close a multi-million-dollar budget gap.
“We are shocked that this could happen at an academic library in the United States that claims to be a top-quality, comprehensive, masters-level institution,” said Hunter Dunlap, who’s been a professor and librarian at WIU for more than 27 years.
As part of a plan to reduce and eliminate the university’s budget deficit, more than 100 people from across campus received layoff notices this summer.
One non-tenure track library faculty member was let go at the end of June.
A bit more than a month later, six tenured and two tenure-track library faculty found out they will lose their jobs in mid-May.
All nine have master’s degrees in library science or library and information science. Dunlap said library faculty are also required to hold a second advanced graduate or professional degree.
Dunlap is worried the loss of trained librarians will hurt students.
“Part of their tuition dollars is going directly to make sure that they have librarians here. They expected that. They should expect it. They deserve it. They’re paying for it. And it’s just wrong for students to not have the top quality, professional librarians that other students at other state public universities in this state are receiving,” he said.
Dunlap recognizes Western faces budget challenges, and he knows the administration has talked about right-sizing the university. But he feels like the library has already taken hits through the years.
“The library has more than been right-sized for this university. In fact, it’s been now decimated,” Dunlap said.
He estimated the library had 60 to 70 employees a couple decades ago. Now they’re down to the last eight librarians and around 18 civil service workers.
Dunlap said the civil service employees do great work. But they’re not trained to do the work of librarianship and don’t have MLS degrees.
The librarians have created a website, Save WIU Librarians, as part of the fight to retain their jobs.
Support from others
Cynthia Robinson was also shocked by what happened at WIU’s Malpass Library.
Robinson, Executive Director of the Illinois Library Association, said faculty members rely on librarians to help with research. She said administrators also seek out information from librarians, and so do students -- especially first-generation students who might not have enjoyed strong support from their libraries in high school.
“That’s what librarians are there for – to help the students, to help them with their research, to point them in the right direction,” she said.
Robinson said academic librarians have access to many databases, plus they can help students find materials that might not be online.
“I can’t imagine a library without librarians,” said Robinson.
Dunlap said they’ve heard words of encouragement and support from colleagues across the nation, including from CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois), which issued a statement about the layoffs of librarians at WIU and Columbia College Chicago.
The administration’s plan for the library
WIU Board of Trustees member Kisha Lang voiced concerns about the library during the board’s meeting in late September.
Lang said she understands why budget cuts were made, but she wondered how the administration plans to proceed.
“What is our plan to have the library function? Who’s in charge of it? How do we move forward and still have it a place where it’s productive,” she asked.
Interim Provost Mark Mossman responded.
“We do have a dean, Hector Maymi-Sugranes, who has developed a plan in consultation with the provost’s office to make sure that we meet every single possible student need as we move forward with the library,” Mossman said.
TSPR filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the plan. The administration responded with a copy of a letter sent to members of CARLI.
“It’s not much of a plan. It’s more like a concept of a plan,” said Dunlap.
The letter, which you can read in its entirety here, said the provost’s office decided to prioritize the maintenance of collections and periodicals, as well as faculty instruction in the regular classroom.
But Dunlap said the e-resources and collections librarian resigned last year and has not been replaced. Dunlap said it’s fallen on him and another librarian to perform those duties.
The letter also said the administration is considering a couple options:
- Hire librarians as staff members rather than faculty
- Create a new faculty librarian classification; they would teach courses half-time, with the rest of their academic work done at the library
The second option would need to be negotiated with the faculty union.
Dunlap said library faculty currently teach non-credit bibliographic instruction courses. He said there are a couple for-credit courses on the books that librarians teach when enough students register for them.
Dunlap said library faculty are mainly practitioners. “We practice our profession not unlike how attorneys practice law,” he said.
Librarians won’t keep quiet
Whatever the plan, Dunlap still cannot believe what’s happening.
“Libraries have historically been known as the heart of the university. And so to fire every single librarian really does kind of have an impact and does great harm to the university,” he said.
“Bring us back. It’s not too late. We’re here. We’re working hard. We’re here encouraging our students, helping them find information they need.”
Dunlap said they're working to bring state and national leaders in librarianship and higher education to Macomb, hold media events, and to stress the importance of libraries to universities.
He said the librarians will not be quiet about a decision they believe will harm the university and its students.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
Copyright 2024 Tri States Public Radio