By David Abel, Globe Staff | September 4, 2009
ASHBURNHAM – There are rolling hills and ivy-covered brick buildings. There are small classrooms, high-tech labs, and well-manicured fields. There’s even a clock tower with a massive bell that rings for special events.
Cushing Academy has all the hallmarks of a New England prep school, with one exception.
This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus about 90 minutes west of Boston have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked their sprawling stacks – the classics, novels, poetry, biographies, tomes on every subject from the humanities to the sciences. The future, they believe, is digital.
“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. “This isn’t ‘Fahrenheit 451’ [the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel in which books are banned]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’
Absolutely horrifying. There is nothing in the world like the feel of a book in your hands. How will people read at the beach, in the tub, or wherever? This is a tragedy.
Students won’t be able to open up and smell the ageing of leather, the glue of the books, or be able curl up in a corner to read. The lack of a visceral experience is just depressing.
Bad, bad move. Those sad, sad, sad people. I want to know what the students at Cushing think of this. I’d rather not
read at all if I had to read Shakespeare on a screen.
I love reading, as Metta said, curled up in a corner or a chair, and for some of us with bad eyes, reading on a bright screen, even for lengthy emails, is a pain. I wonder what is being done with all the books? Hopefully the “sweat-stained” books are not just being thrown out. And a coffee machine? wow are they preparing them for the real world.
Also, I rarely take books out of the library, but I will read them while in the Library. I have read a lot of books from the library without checking many out. poor kids.
I think it’s a decision that’s a little ahead of the technology to support it. It will be interesting to watch and learn from!
I heard James Tracy (the head) speak last spring about his decision to create a bookless library at Cushing. He’s an interesting, articulate and visionary man. Based on meeting him, and watching the reaction of his library director, who had no role in this decision, it seems to me a strategy to distinguish Cushing as a cutting edge institution for 21st Century learning, perhaps a smart tactic in this economically competitive environment. The Cushing faculty were not involved in the planning or decision making either (to my knowledge). Apparently some embrace the bookless library concept, and others are certainly not going gently into that good night.
I do find the circulation statistics of Cushing’s library quite baffling. It makes me wonder about the strength of the library program. In contrast, last year the Schauffler Library circulated 17,021 items. 4,868 of these transactions were print volumes (ie: actual books), 4,035 DVD transactions and a whopping 6,344 were equipment transactions (think video cameras, laptops, etc.)
Keith Fiels, executive Director of the American Library Association, quoted in the article, is the former head of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. I worked with him for many years on various state library committees. I think he’s spot on with the concerns about equitable access of a solely digital environment.
As the library director at NMH, I believe a multiype collection of print and electronic resources geared to the academic and personal interest needs of the community is the way to go. Having said that, The Schauffler Library does endeavor to stay on the forefront of emerging options (such as downloadable digital books.)
I suspect James Tracy is going for shock and awe. He’s certainly getting press for Cushing.
This move is understandable considering that Cushing is a failing second-tier school. Their website reads like some kind of academic summer camp, not a New England prep school. But perhaps that’s now appropriate, because surely a school cannot exist without a functioning library.