Dear Editor:

It was more than a little disheartening to read the lead story in Wednesday’s Daily Egyptian concerning the book move at Morris Library. After more than three years of being unable to browse the stacks, library patrons are now informed that this will likely continue because SIUC can’t afford to move books out of storage.

One can only imagine how such careful ‘planning’ as this was done, but the most important thing now is to do something to address the problem. I propose that we all pitch in and move the materials, or at least some of them, ourselves, under the guidance of Morris personnel.

Why can’t administrators at Morris Library organize ‘The Great Saluki Book Move?’ After using Morris staff and extra paid student workers to load books into boxes at the storage site, why not designate a Saturday this spring for a convoy of 100 or more volunteers using their own pickup trucks, SUVs or whatever they have, to move boxes of books into the newly renovated library? If 100 volunteers took 10 loads each, it would have to fill a few shelves, one would think. Then have another move a month later and continue on a monthly basis until Morris was once again a fully functional library.

To sit around and whine about not having the money to move the resources back into Morris is simply unacceptable. Let’s be proactive around here for a change. The whole Morris project has been way too long in the making and to have to wait for the state of Illinois to act before we can once again effectively use the library is simply ridiculous. I will be happy to be the first volunteer to sign up for ‘The Great Saluki Book Move.’

Michael T. Madigan

professor and distinguished scholar of microbiology