Associate Professor Andrew Hui, a literature professor and fellow founding faculty member, echoed the concerns. He recalled contributing hundreds of suggestions to help build the library’s early collection, even before a professional librarian was appointed.
“All of that work has just vanished,” he said.
He added that while NUS libraries occasionally hold book giveaways, they typically involve voluntary donations – not the systematic offloading of unused inventory. He also questioned the criteria for determining “low utilisation rates”.
“That is antithetical to the very nature and function of a library, which is to preserve cultural memory.”
Like Prof Bailey, he also said no library staff member had reached out to him with offers to take up the books.
Both professors said they had received recent emails from college management noting that unchecked books would be moved to another library – but the message made no mention of offering faculty the chance to claim them.
On Wednesday, Assoc Prof Pang, the university librarian, said NUS will implement a new standard operating procedure across all its libraries. The new protocol will require more comprehensive outreach to both faculty members and students before books are removed.
Prof Bailey welcomed the move as “wise”, while Assoc Prof Hui called for a more fundamental shift: “The SOP (should be) that you try to preserve as many books as possible,” he said.
CNA has contacted NUS for further comment.
