3
The Belles
of
St. Mary’s
College
VOLUME XLII, NUMBER 5
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE, RALEIGH, N.C.
MARCH, 1981
LIBRARY FACES HEAVY LOSSES
by Andrea P. Brown
Head Librarian
Missing books. Missing
magazines. Vandalized
materials. Hazardous
violations of smoking
regulations. Damaged
furniture. Books long overdue.
Happening in OUR library?
Unfortunately, YES.
Historically the
organization of the St. Mary’s
Library has been based on the
Honor Policy of the Student
Government Association. In
years long past there were
essentially no violations of
library regulations. In recent
years the library has been
suffering considerable losses
and damages - at the hands of
St. Mary’s students.
Books and magazines are
stolen, with very few returned
or found at the end of the
school year. Important
reference books and
circulating books are
underlined in ink, as are
magazine articles. Coupons
and articles are torn from
magazines. Cigarette butts
are put out on the floor, only
three feet from an ashtray,
and in planters in an area
where smoking is not allowed.
This year cigarette butts have
been found in the carpet
among the book stacks, which
is a serious fire hazard.
Recently three magazines
were found partialy burned.
Wooden tables and cloth
upholstered chairs bear heavy
graffiti. Books are kept long
overdue, and notices to return
ignored.
These are serious
problems. The library’s
resources are being ravaged.
Thousands of new books are
published each year in
America. At St. Mary’s we
find ourselves buying the
same books over and oyer
again, as truly outstanding
and helpful books are taken
repeatedly. All of us are
aware of rising costs; the
library world has experienced
more than its share. With the
average cost increase of 24
percent from 1979 to 1980 on
books published in America,
and a doubling, sometitnes
tripling of magazine
subscription rates, the more
the library must replace, the
fewer new items it can buy.
Books go out-of-print very
rapidly, as publishing houses
press for profits and small
inventories. This means that
sometimes we can’t replace
that really wonderful book
that has been stolen. It also
means that if we miss buying
a book at the time of
publication (because money is
being spent on replacements)
it may not be available a year
later when the library has the
money to buy it. Recognizing
the importance of the library
to the total academic
program, St. Mary’s
administrators have tried to
provide adequate funds for
collection building. But now
we simply cannot keep up with
the double problems of
replacement costs and
inflation in prices of books and
magazines.
Often missing magazine
issues are very hard to
replace. Like book publishers,
inventories are kept small.
Companies which deal in back
issues of magazines charge
high rates; $7-$15 per issue. In
our library, we try to replace
missing issues of magazines
that we bind between hard
covers. Otherwise we have
what librarian’s call an
“incomplete run.” Imagine
the effect on a student doing a
term paper when she finds
that the issue of the magazine
she needs was receiv^ but
was later stolen. Thus again
we spend limited funds on
replacing issues that were
already paid for through the
subscription.
How serious is the
problem? The partial
inventory of the book
collection taken during the
summer, 1980, shows more
than 600 books missing. At the
conservative value of $15.00
each, this amounts to $9,000 in
missing books. Due to the
magnitude of inventorying our
complete unbound magazines,
this has not been attempted.
However we have records
showing a number of missing
issues. Some of the most
recent are: National
Geographic - Jan., 1980; New
Republic - Nov. 29, 1980;
Newsweek - Aug. 25, Dec. 1,
1980; Business Week - Jan. 7,
Nov. 24, 1980; Consumer
Reports - Aug., 1980; Harper’s
Bazaar - Feb., Aug., Dec.,
1980; Journal of Marriage and
the Family - nos. 2 and 3,1980;
Journal of Physical Education
and Recreation - Feb. and
March, 1980; Mademoiselle -
Feb., May, June, 1980; Sci-
Quest - nos. 5 and 10,1980; and
Seventeen - Feb., April, June,
1980. These represent issues
taken from the display
shelving at the front of the
library and illegally removed
from the building. They have
not been returned.
Mutilation and vandalism
of books and magazines is
another alarming
development. Despite our 5
cents per copy photocopier
price (temperamental, I
know), students tear out
articles and coupons from
magazines. Underlining,whicn
is so childish and disturbing
the next user, seems to be on
the rise. . .
Problems with smoking
violations have been so severe
that smoking will
“lowedinliielibWtailtoS
Sing’S anti
Sre'SSsSe smokmg has
become so bad this year
serious fire hazards have teen
created, and tables, Wed
floors, plants, and carpg
have been damaged. A nre
could completely destroy the
'“'SSiwSfas'Mloge
Srr'nnrmo Thoi^s
tvolte Collection, are
‘"^SfeWslon would not
be Jmplete witlwuUefermce
overdue books and fines. At
this writing there are 272
books overdue, some of which
date back to first semester.
There are 260 unpaid fines on
overdue books already
returned. With a loan period of
almost three weeks, and with
renewal privileges, this is
ridiculous! As other students
need these overdue materials,
failing to return overdue
books is a very selfish action.
A considerable amount of
time is spent by the staff and
student assistants on the
various steps in overdues and
fines, time that could be tetter
spent on developing new
collections and services. An
example might be creating a
listening center for records
and cassette tapes.
Ultimately, the College
usually collects the unpaid
fines and the costs of
unreturned books. However,
as some of the books are out-
of-print, they can never be
exactly replaced. The waste of
human time and effort cannot
be replaced. Again, these
problems have worsened in
the past few years.
The library staff and
library committee sometime
speculate on the motivation of
students who steal library
materials. We remember our
own student days with heavy
deadline pressures and the
panic that sets in. We can’t
sympathize however with any
motivation for vandalism.
Several points should be
made. First, no library book,
magazine, chair, table, etc.
belongs to any one student.
Rather, the library and its
facilities are for the use of
generations of St. Mary’s
students. Secondly, stealing
library materials is the same
as stealing someone’s jewelry
or wallet, or shoplifting a
sweater from a store.Colleges
and universities often expel
students for this. Public
libraries are now prosecuting
thieves in criminal court.
There are several
physical systems that St.
Mary’s could purchase to
prevent thefts. They are
expensive; a number of our
(Continued on Page 3)
Beth Simpson and Louise Johnson lounge on the library steps as
the weather turns warmer.
SMC Girls Receive Honors
by Anna Tate
Three honorary societies
at St. Mary’s recently
inducted new members. The
National High School Honor
Society inducted the following
girls: Elizabeth Jane Archer,
Rena Clark Harris, Mary Colt
Horton, Karen Maria Lado,
Sally Moye Mayo, Mary
Miller Meares, Tiffany Lee
Miller, Florence Love Norris,
Kathrine Frances Norris,
Margaret Ann Norris, and
Ellen Barbara Reynolds.
Phi Theta Kappa, the
national honor society for
Junior Colleges, inducted the
following girls on March 31:
Seniors with a 3.25 cumulative
average taking 12 academic
hours, Kara Patricia
Campbell, Astrid Chirinos,
Linda Kathryn Ingram,
Elizabeth Lee Trotter. Juniors
with a 3.5 on one semester’s
work, Marilyn Layton
Ellerbe, Kathrine Iris
McCrary, Sarah Cunningham
Rice, Frances Heidt Roberts,
Jean Huske Schaefer.
Accelerated Juniors with a 3.5
on first semester work,
Constance Alexandra
Apostolou, Evelyn Bee
Derreth, Jane Hamilton
Steward. Accelerated Seniors
with a 3.25 cumulative
average, Elizabeth Ellen
Fussell.
The Societe Hon'oraire de
Franca is is the high school
French honor society which
aims to promote higher
standards of scholarship and
encourage an understanding
of French culture and
civilization. Candidates must
have a 3.5 in French and a 3.0
in all other subjects for the
preceeding three semesters.
On March 17 the following
girls were inducted: Margaret
Bassett, Bettye Davis,
Stephanie Gardner, Louise
Johnson, Mary Grady Koonce,
and Margaret Norris.
Summer Jobs Are Waiting
by Mary Horton
How do you go about
getting a summer job? You
should have started looking
before Christmas, but if
you’ve missed that point, the
sooner the better. The heavy
competition is during May and
June, so if you don’t have a job
by July don’t give up. If you
can work after Labour Day,
mention it because that is a
plus. Know your Child Labour
Laws, Social Security
Number, and what you are
entitled to earn.
There are several
potential employers that you
should talk to: the owners of
stores where your family
trades; the owners of the
place where a member of your
family works; places that
have “summer jobs”; or a job
that a friend has recently left.
Phone, or stop by to see the
potential employer in person,
or write to an employer that is
remote. Don’t hesitate to
advertise yourself on a
bulletin board.
There are several jobs
that are easy to get and are
common summer jobs; fast-
food counter service,
childcare, farm harvesting,
and camp work. If these jobs
don’t appeal to you, create
your own: watch houses for
vacationing neighbors, get up
a musical group to play at
parties, or clean up
neighborhoods. If these jobs
are too run-of-the-mill: give
tours in Alaska, work at Six
Flags over Texas, or at the
Department of Labour in New
York.