College of Marin’s library is winding down its long-running free textbook loan program, a move that has quickly turned into a flashpoint on campus. Library staff say the decision is about staffing and scalability, while many faculty and students say it chips away at one of the few real breaks students get on soaring course costs. The program, in place since 2014, has helped students dodge hundreds of dollars in textbook bills. Now, as the Kentfield library prepares to relocate into the new Center for Student Success early next year, that safety net is being reworked and, in some cases, pulled away.
Staff Vote Ends A Campus Staple
At a Nov. 18 trustees meeting, library staff voted unanimously to terminate the Library Textbook Program, arguing the service had become too difficult to scale and required staffing the department no longer has. Library department chair Sarah Frye told trustees the program posed “scalability and staffing” problems, and staff pointed to several recent early retirements that thinned their ranks. The program, created in 2014 by library staffer John Erdmann, once circulated hundreds of volumes a year. Opponents say ending it will widen financial barriers for students, as reported by Marin Independent Journal.
Program Shrinks As Library Packs Up
At its height the textbook program put hundreds of required titles into circulation. By this fall, the Library Textbook Program listed roughly 350 loaner copies covering 17 sections across nine courses, a clear sign of a scaled-back operation, as outlined by COM Library. The Kentfield collection is now closing as the college prepares to reopen the library in the Center for Student Success early next year. The library’s move announcement also notes that LTP textbooks are due this Friday so staff can get the collection ready for the relocation, per COM Library…