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SaveOurLibrariesVSU OP t1_j9zva27 wrote

Reply to comment by birdable in Vermont State University Libraries and Sports by SaveOurLibrariesVSU

You raise an important point and don't sound rude at all.

Tl;Dr: We know we're broke, we're trying to find alternatives to cutting costs, but the administration refuses to cooperate and says the decision is final.

We are very aware of the financial troubles that lead to this. We also know that the current proposal will not only be far more expensive to institute, but cause a significant drop in enrollment. Many students are already transferring. We know the university needs to cut costs, but the administration's current approach is short-sighted and ill-conceived. We are trying to find alternatives, and to that end have requested the administration be transparent with the data they're basing the decision on. They have thus far refused. The only thing they're willing to share is that VSU has a 25 million dollar deficit, and there is an expectation that the colleges save 5 million a year in costs for five years. But they won't show us the exact numbers indicating the amount of money saved by repurposing the libraries and reducing library staff to a skeleton crew, or how much the exact cost of a digital transition will be compared to maintaining the current physical libraries.

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birdable t1_j9zzt66 wrote

I completely understand where you all are coming from. I’m sorry students and staff are put into this position. As a former CCV student I want nothing more than to see VSC succeed. I have to think the lack of transparency is because the outlook behind closed doors is worse than the public knows right now. It’s a hard balance between being transparent and keeping the student applications rolling in.

As a shot in the dark, may I suggest using this “final straw” as a platform to advocate for a massive investment in the VSC endowment…. Like 500m or more. Would bring in steady income to stabilize current campuses and provide some money for future investment.

Pouring political clout into a big (well thought out) investment once seems better than running to tax payers every two years for stopgap funding every time they want to cut back on libraries, janitors, cafeteria staff or staff benefits.

Sadly with Phil Scott in office I don’t think any of it is possible :(

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