Dundee University dumps library books — then doesn’t

At first, it was the kind of news that struck fear in a book lover’s heart. Last week, according the Fife & Tayside Courier News reported , Dundee University made plans to throw away up to 22,000 books (many of which hadn’t been taken out of the library for 10 years or more) due to ‘demands on space’ – even though a £7.5 million library extension is due to open next year.

The outcry began, and now the university has done an about-face. A spokesman for Dundee University denied that public sentiment had anything to do with it, but did say instead that the reversal had been prompted by “general concern” about the library’s decision to ditch books that had not been loaned out for years. “The university has cancelled the current programme of book disposal from the library. The university deputy principal, Professor Geoff Ward, has been appointed to chair a committee which will examine the situation as a matter of urgency.”

Despite the supposed change of heart, crime writer Russel McLean (who graduated from Dundee University a few years ago and said “he’s glad he left when he did”) seemed somewhat skeptical. “The general feeling seems to be that nothing is really going to change despite the publicity and will probably take place by stealth.”

And freelance economist Neil Robertson revealed to the Courier Post that he stood to make a profit of £1,499.20 if the four books he bought, entitled David Ricardo: Critical Assessments, sold for the same price they had been advertised on a website. “[The books] might not be the kind you would find in Waterstone’s but, as far as professional economists are concerned, they should remain in Dundee University’s library and should not be thrown out.”

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