Hundreds of books from New College dumped while students work to save what they can: 'I was in shock'

Books tossed in dumpster at New College campus

Kimberly Kuizon reports

SARASOTA, Fla. - At New College in Sarasota, a large dumpster filled with books caught the attention of those on campus.

"It was such a huge amount, and I was in shock," said Natalia Benavides, an incoming senior at the school.

It caused controversy that quickly spread. New College said the books were part of their annual procedures for weeding its library's collection of old and damaged books – in some cases, damaged by water leaks following Debby.

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Meanwhile, a second pile of books placed nearby caught the eye of Benavides. They're from the Student Gender and Diversity Center, a studies program that the university shut down last year.

"It doesn’t matter where they come from, what mattered was saving them," Benavides said. "Because it was a shame and so incredibly shocking to think it was acceptable to disregard this many books. No matter the topic and even more insane, this came from our Gender and Diversity Center, which was a very beloved space for students, and we didn’t have the opportunity to reclaim these books like we should have because students haven’t returned to campus. It’s not just gender students and LGBTQ+ materials, it’s religious students from all various religions. There was a Holy Bible in this."

Benavides and others, including the Social Equity through Education Alliance (SEE Alliance), worked to save the books from the former student space while the books from the library were hauled way.

"If this was standard protocol, if this is what needed to happen, why could we have not applied 55 seconds of critical thought and reach the conclusion that ‘maybe if I don’t want these books, maybe someone else does,’" said Zander Moricz, the executive director of SEE Alliance.

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The reason New College gave was that it's the law. Officials from the school released the following statement:

"The New College Library is following its longstanding annual procedures for weeding its collection, which involves the removal of materials that are old, damaged, or otherwise no longer serving the needs of the College. This process is carried out by professional librarians trained to assess the collection. A library needs to regularly review and renew its collection to ensure its materials are meeting the current needs of students and faculty. The images seen online of a dumpster of library materials is related to the standard weeding process. Chapter 273 of Florida statutes precludes New College from selling, donating or transferring these materials, which were purchased with state funds. Deselected materials are discarded, through a recycling process when possible.

Separate from the New College library weeding its collection, a number of books associated with the discontinued Gender Studies program were removed from a room in Hamilton Center that is being repurposed. These books came from a number of sources, primarily donations over a number of years. Again, Gender Studies has been discontinued as an area of concentration at New College, and the books are not part of any official college collection or inventory. When the books were not claimed for pickup from the room, they were moved to a book drop location by the library where they were later claimed by individuals planning to donate the books locally."

SEE Alliance calls New College’s actions a waste.

"As a student who will be paying for books when I return to school next year, I’m looking at all of these books, and I’m just heartbroken thinking of all the students who wanted and needed the books that are currently at the Sarasota dump. No one on planet earth will ever read those books again," said Moricz.

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While the library books were paid for with state funds, the books from the Gender and Diversity Center were donated. New College said students were free to collect any of those books they wanted.

Students, though, are asking for clear communication as the school year begins next week.

"Really, it’s important for all universities, especially New College right now, to have strong communication between administration and students," said Benavides.

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