GUEST COLUMNIST: Rosengarten is in need of a facelift

After a year of renovations, Van Pelt's first floor is once again a top-notch facility. Unfortunately, Rosengarten Reserve -- a popular late-night study area -- remains in its familiar run-down condition. The vents shake, the bathrooms are disgusting and there are no Ethernet connections nor electric outlets for laptop computers. In short, Rosie is noisy and dirty. According to the University Council Committee on Libraries, "Among 107 academic peer institutions in the Association of Research Libraries? Penn is near the bottom of the list on the percent of those General Expenditures allocated to the library." While the mean expenditures of the average institution were 3.14 percent of their academic budget, Penn only spent 2.16 percent. In order to raise student and faculty awareness as to the lack of attention the University gives to library renovations, the Undergraduate Assembly has passed a "Resolution on Increased Library Spending." The resolution calls for the University to make it a top priority to obtain funding for the necessary Rosengarten Reserve renovations; to focus on raising contributions for renovations to the entire library system; and to help improve the overall physical quality of the library, including modernizing the restroom facilities and ventilation system. Our intention is to let the administration know that library funding is the UA's top priority. Fortunately, Penn has announced plans for improvements to the facility. The plans -- at a relatively low cost of $2 million -- call for six new study rooms and increased seating, as well as new furnishings and computers. In addition, there are plans for a cybercafe, which would enable students to take study breaks without leaving the library. The library has already raised $1 million toward the proposed renovations and the UA does not see raising the remainder of the project costs as an unreasonably arduous task for a University which routinely funds multi-million dollar projects. However, the University does not plan to contribute a single dollar of its $2.8 billion total operating budget toward library renovations. According to Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Paul Mosher, the library system funds all of its own renovations through private donations. The UA recently brought up our concerns regarding library funding to the University Council -- the deliberative body comprised of students, faculty, staff and administrators, that presents recommendations to the President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi. Increased spending for the library was twice denied a place on Council's agenda. Rather, the Council Steering Committee referred the matter to the Committee on Libraries. Interestingly, that Committee had addressed the same issue a year ago. At the time, the committee highlighted the faults of the current library system, focusing specifically on the dearth of funding for Penn's libraries. The committee went on to say that the findings "appear to contradict the top-ten aspirations of Penn's Agenda for Excellence and there appears to be no indication that the University intends to increase the library's funding." The library system is in the unique position of being responsible for servicing the entire Penn community. Therefore, the UA adamantly believes that the administration should make it one of its top priorities to see that sufficient funds are allocated for improvements to Rosengarten Reserve, as well as for any other future renovations. The UA implores the administration to ensure that Penn students are afforded the opportunity to have access to the best library facilities an Ivy League institution can offer.

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