Does anyone else remember the small building that once stood humbly at the entrance to Bradley Court? We miss Kiewit, and we are certain that if students can form a sentimental attachment to what was once a rather awkward, aesthetically unpleasing edifice housing Computer Services, then it is likely that many have a vested interest in the survival of Sanborn Library. Though she may (literally) live in the shadows of the eminent Baker/Berry Library complex, Sanborn offers an escape from the modern world that the sterile Berry superstructure seems to embody.
Like many other businesses and organizations across the country, Dartmouth College has suffered from the recent economic slump. Although revisions to the College budget have become necessary in order to compensate for a loss on endowment returns, few would have anticipated that the first sacrifices would include one of the campus' historic buildings. One wonders how the elimination of Sanborn House is justified, especially in the wake of the College's recent expenditures, which include cable television access to all residence halls, multiple large-screen televisions in Collis and a college-run nightclub that has failed to attract patrons.
It is essential that Dartmouth College change with the times and remains at the forefront of technology and academia, but not if it is at the expense of its own heritage. Historic buildings like Sanborn, steeped in tradition and rich with the smell of old books, are an integral part of this college's character. Should we really be so quick to abandon the classic vestiges of the New England Ivy League in favor of the white walls and fluorescent lighting of the Berry cell? Why should we regard an oversized and consolidated complex that is ostensibly anonymous above the genuine communities comprised of these smaller libraries and department offices?
College history tells us that Sanborn Library was erected in 1929 through a generous donation from Edwin Webster Sanborn, who sought to "bring back the close association between teacher and student that he felt had been lost with the rapid expansion of the College." Sanborn continues to foster a sense of community among the students and professors who dwell there today. In stark contrast to the impersonal central library system, Sanborn provides students with an environment that is comfortable and inviting. The sense of place offered by this smaller library is completely absent from the campus's latest constructions.
If we forfeit that antique chair and 10- cent cup of tea, what remains? We could read Shakespeare in a cubicle in Berry while sipping vending-machine coffee or study art at a cold, plastic table in Novack, or discuss French literature during commercial breaks from "SportsCenter" in the Collis lounge.
One must also consider the repercussions that the eventual removal of Sanborn Library would have on academic opportunities at Dartmouth. In the announcement of Sanborn's fate printed in Friday's issue of The Dartmouth, certain members of the library staff expressed concern that the College would choose to reduce the number of services and branches that the library system now offers. In the past, it has been a point of pride for Dartmouth to have a distributed library system that caters to the needs of different academic departments. While acknowledging that Baker/Berry would, on its own, provide adequate services for students, one staff member openly admitted that the new arrangement will not serve students as well. If even the library staff is questioning the decision to close Sanborn Library, we must ask ourselves, where is the administration placing its priorities?
Although it offers a wealth of technology and resources, the consolidated central library system is essentially anonymous and bereft of the character maintained by its predecessors. There are those who came to Hanover in order to be part of a long-standing tradition and common Dartmouth experience. Sanborn is a vital component of that tradition, and a connection to the Dartmouth of old. We urge students, faculty and alumni alike to defend such small remains of collegiate antiquity and we implore the administration to keep both Sanborn and Dartmouth's heritage intact. It is, as we have said, a small library. And yet, there are those who love it.
