SINGAPORE: The National University Singapore (NUS) on Wednesday (May 21) apologised for an “operational lapse” in dealing with unwanted books from Yale-NUS College, which is shutting this year.
Hundreds of books from the Yale-NUS College library were reportedly sent for disposal or recycling on Tuesday, triggering an outcry from its alumni and students.
Photos and videos showed books packed into trash bags and loaded onto a truck from a recycling company.
Responding to CNA’s queries on Wednesday, Associate Professor Natalie Pang, University Library of NUS, said that in maintaining the library collection, excess books are “routinely rehomed” in other libraries or given away to faculty members, and sometimes to students.
“Books which are not taken up are then sent for recycling, in line with common library practices,” she added.
In the case of the books from the Yale-NUS College Library, the majority of the books were moved to other NUS libraries, Assoc Prof Pang said, adding that the excess books were offered only to faculty members, and not students.
“We understand later that many students were interested in having these books and we would have usually acceded to their requests,” she said. “We did not do so on this occasion and we apologise for the operational lapse.”
Assoc Prof Pang said that given the “strong interest” from students, the university is now organising a giveaway on campus.
“Going forward, we are reviewing our process and will take proactive steps to distribute excess books to the NUS community and the wider public so that they can benefit as many people as possible,” she said.
NUS did not say what happened to the books that were seen being loaded onto a recycling truck.
An employee from the recycling company Green Orange Enviro told CNA on Wednesday that the books had been recycled. He said NUS reached out to the company at around 3pm on Tuesday to stop the recycling, but it was already too late.
