The AU library is consistently ranked one of the worst in the nation (it earned a spot at number 16 on Princeton Review's "This is a Library?" ranking last year), and someone is finally trying to do something about it.
The Friends of the American University Library is sponsoring the "Change Your Library: A Mile of Pennies" campaign. The group, made up of students, faculty, staff, alumni and neighbors of the university, aims to raise $10,000 by the end of the contest on Dec. 5. A mile of stacked pennies equals $10,000, according to the organizers.
Campus groups will compete against each other in the fundraiser. The group with the most money raised will earn a pizza party and any group that contributes at least 250 feet of pennies will have its name inscribed in one of the new books.
AU students complain endlessly about the poor quality of the library, but the Friends of the Library are actually taking action. The library has improved noticeably over the last few years, thanks in no small part to this group.
Only 35 percent of the library's budget is allocated to acquiring new resources, both paper and electronic. It takes more money than that to make an outstanding collection.
Although the money from the penny campaign will certainly help the library, an increase of $10,000 is only a drop compared to the $3.7 million the library received for acquisitions in fiscal year 2006. An increase of a little more than a quarter of a percent won't help things unless the university gives library funding a higher priority.
