the utah
Thursday, March 5, 2015 • www.usustatesman.com • (435)-797-1742 • Free single copy
Spring cleaning Library purges excess books with annual sale 4By Melanie Fenstermaker staff writer
As spring break approaches, there are several book-filled tables in the Merrill-Cazier library atrium bearing the advertisement: “All books only 25 cents.” Between 9 a.m on Wednesday and 3 p.m. on Friday, the library is holding its annual Spring Book Sale. The sale is designed to clear excess donations and old inventory from the library and give students a chance to find books to read during spring break, said Gaby LeBeau, who works with the Gifts and Special Collections department at the library. An average of 2,000 to 2,500 books are sold each year at the sale, which is approximately 75 percent of the books offered, LeBeau said. Amanda Duncan, head of collection development at the library, said there are three types of books that are accepted into the book sale: first, books that are old or no longer suit the library’s collection; second, books that have been donated to the library during the year that the library already has copies of; and third, popular books donated by Jenson Books, a book store in North Logan. Rather than
recycling or getting rid of the books, Duncan said the library holds the sale as a way of “giving back” to Utah State University students. “Sometimes students will see a new, shiny book on the table and think, ‘Oh, why is this book only for 25 cents?’” Duncan said. “Why would we want to recycle that book or ship it off somewhere when a Utah State student could have it and read it for spring break, enjoy it and then maybe pass it on to someone else? We want the books to find a good home.” Duncan said there are a lot of great books in the sale, but the library can’t accept all of them because there isn’t enough space. “There’s a lot of good stuff there,” Duncan said. “For one reason or another, we get some really cool books, but we’re not going to add 20 copies of a certain book (to the collection).” Duncan also said that there are many popular books in the sale because there are so many cop-
ies in circulation that they are worth very little and the library can afford to sell them for a quarter. The library made about $500 in last year’s sale, evidence that the sale isn’t a “huge money-maker,” LeBeau said. “It’s more of a community service,” she said. “We are an academic community and lots of people like books and knowledge. And everyone likes a bargain.” The revenue from the sale is used to help fund the work of student positions in the library, LeBeau said. She said books left unsold after the sale are donated to organizations like Better World Books and Worldwide Book Drive, programs that promote worldwide literacy by either selling the books to raise money for the cause or by shipping books to countries that need them.
— melmo12@ gmail.com
Mark Belle photo
Students survey air Arts college seeks input on building plans quality attitudes 4By Levi Henrie senior writer
Courtney Flint’s Sociology 4620 class conducted a survey last month on the attitudes of Utah State University students, faculty and Logan residents regarding air quality. Analysis of the survey, which will be completed when classes resume after spring break, will be given to the Logan City Council for public use. “When the city came in, they said this is the first time they’ve even looked into air quality,” said Tom Magnuson, a sophomore majoring in business. “I think it will be really important (for the city to receive the data).” Flint began planning this project once she became aware that the city chose air quality as an area of interest in its Community Bridge Initiative, an act that allows students to use knowledge learned in the classroom to solve local problems. “I thought it was an interesting way for students to apply what they were learning in Environmental and
Natural Sociology in the real world as well as to be of use for someone beyond the classroom,” she said. “This seemed like a perfect fit for our class since we’re studying the connections between society and the environment.” The class spent significant time formulating questions that they considered scientifically appropriate. Afterwards the 36 students split up, they were able to survey 642 people in under an hour. “We were ... grouped according to our interests, then we worked together to formulate questions and submitted them to Dr. Flint,” said Cameron Lawrence, a senior majoring in environmental studies. “It was really nice that she was super involved in the project but that she also let us work to create what we thought was important.” Flint said although the project began with only teaching and service purposes in mind, if students had ambitions of publishing research based on the survey, she believes it may be
jSee SURVEY, Page 4
Correction: In Tuesday’s paper it was reported that 74 percent of the student population voted in favor of the constitutional changes. It should have read, “74 percent of voters.”
4By Melanie Fenstermaker staff writer
The Caine College of the Arts facilities are about to undergo a major transformation, and Utah State University students and faculty have a say in what will happen, said Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine College of the Arts. In a meeting in the Performance Hall on Wednesday, Jessop announced that the college has hired an architectural firm, Sparano + Mooney Architects, to begin the process of renovating and expanding the Caine College of the Arts facilities. The firm, however, came into the process with no specific plans for renovations. Architects are looking to students and faculty to speak up about how the facilities can better suit their needs. “We want this building to be a reflection of who you are,” said Anne Mooney, one of the architects. The college plans to renovate several facilities, including but not limited to Kent Concert Hall, Tippets
Art Gallery, the theater department, the scene shop behind Morgan Theater, several building lobbies, the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, the Fine Arts Center courtyard and the Performance Hall. Jessop said there are also plans to add a new expansion west of the FAC, which would include classrooms, practice rooms, studio offices, administrative offices and an advising center. John Sparano, one of the architects, said faculty members of each department have submitted their “wish lists” of what they ideally want to see changed in each area, but they need to have conversations as a college to decide which renovations are the most important. In order to invite conversation, the college will hold workshops to discuss the necessary changes to each individual area. Jessop said the workshops will begin after spring break and are open to anyone who wants to attend. They will be announced to students and faculty through emails from Production Services. Samuel Wright,
Annie Hall photo DEAN CRAIG JESSOP addresses architects in the Performance Hall during a discussion about the future of college facilities.
USUSA arts senator, said it is very important for students to attend the workshops — so important that students should be willing to miss class to attend them. “Read the emails from the college,” Wright said. “Do not take a passive role. I think it would be okay for a student to skip one class period in order to attend a process that will affect students 30, 40, 50 years from now. It would be nearsighted for professors to penalize students who want to get involved with the building process.” Wright said some of the biggest student concerns stem from
limited practice and studio space and a lack of windows in the FAC. He believes these concerns will be addressed in the process. “The architects spoke to me personally and said they’re very interested in getting students involved,” Wright said. If students can’t attend the meetings for any reason, Wright said they should speak to him about their concerns. “I’m the one who is required to sit in on these meetings,” he said. “If they can’t make it, they need to talk to me. If they don’t do that, they do not have a right
to complain because they weren’t involved in the process.” Although there have been many suggestions for changes that could be made, Jessop said students and faculty should know that “not everyone will get everything.” “I think, ultimately, some hard decisions will be made at the end, and the buck will probably stop here,” he said. “But I won’t make the decision in a vacuum. I can promise you that it will be an open, transparent discussion.” Once students and faculty speak up
jSee ART, Page 4