To the Board of Trustees of Sullivan County Community College

Please do not close/downsize SCCC library! I'm in a Master's of Nursing Informatics program and I actually need the library for the resources and expanded hours

Education is priceless. Librarians share access to Information which help us all learn.

We, Sullivan County residents, are so proud to have SUNY SULLIVAN, in our backyard. It is a treasure of the county. We contribute about 4.4 million dollars to this wonderful community college. The fact that the library is being hacked apart, upstairs, downstairs, giving away half the print collection is breaking our hearts. You cannot create a library out of algorithms in the same way that you cannot create a church out of algorithms. We look around at our local towns and see new, beautiful, bigger 3 story libraries being built. And the SUNY Sullivan college library now will become a one stop, quickie mart version of a library.

See Melinda Cormier's insightful comments!

With 25% of the county unable to access the internet, this is a disasterous move. Libraries are sacred student meeting places for the free exchange of ideas the lead to higher learning. Browsing a library's shelves will introduce so much more literature and information than doing an online search.

Save the Hermann Memorial Library and all the books! As a retired teacher, Librarian/Media Specialist, and a Liberty Central High School graduate, I'm very sad and upset to read about this in the Sullivan County Democrat. Yes, "the college library should be expanded and modernized." In the words of theoretical physicist Albert Eistein, "The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."

Yes, the library should be expanded and modernized and be a showcase for the college!!

Libraries are the hub of any college or university for information.

Very upset to read about this. What will Middle States Accreditation say to a college without a library? Back in the late 1980's/early 1990's when there was a visit, they were unhappy that there wasn't a ARCHIVE...how will they react to a libraryless college?!? Frankly, if I were considering the college to send my child (in theory), and found out they DID NOT have a library, I certainly would send them elsewhere. The Study Center has been encroaching on that library for decades. It has reduced the size so that the study center could thrive, at the expense of The Hermann Memorial Library.

As a former SCCC student and class valedictorian, I can attest to the value of a college library to students and the community. After completing higher degrees and a career in education, I returned to SCCC to further my education in a new area. There are ways to improve community integration for the SCCC library without dismantling the printed collection. Libraries are sacred treasures and foundations of knowledge.

As a past student and employee of the College, I spent many lunch hours making use of what the library had to offer. So many people just read and researched there, not just checked out books. Please expand the library not shrink it. Thank you.

While other libraries are expanding, you are shrinking yours. Why? It's not just about books checked out, it's about a safe haven, a quiet place to study, a place to be alone and read or reflect. The Daniel Pierce, Liberty and Monticello Libraries have all expanded. The SUNY Sullivan Library is also supposed to be for the public. No one asked the public our opinion. Shame on you!

Backwards thinking that we've tried so hard to get away from!!

As part of SUNY Sullivan’s commitment to ensuring that all our constituents, faculty, students, staff and community members have access to high quality library services, we are making some improvements. As we join the growing list of academic libraries realigning services to address the literacy needs of 21st century community college library patrons, it is worth revisiting the data supplied in the library’s annual reports: • In 2007, the library’s collection included approximately 72,000 print volumes, 358 journals, 26 microfilm collections, and 56 electronic databases. By 2016 the collection had changed significantly: the print collection had declined by 26% to 53,000 volumes, microfilm is no longer housed at the library, journal subscriptions have plummeted over 75% to 120, but digital databases have almost doubled to 96, and the library now boasts over 143,000 eBooks. • Print circulation has declined dramatically. In 2007 the library loaned 2247 books to SCCC students; by 2016 this category of circulation had fallen to 543. Circulation continued to fall into the 2017-2018 academic year, with only 429 books loaned to students. • Over the last two years, fewer than 1100 books in our main circulating collection have been checked out. • Reference desk use has seen a similar marked decrease: from nearly 12,000 reference desk interactions in 2007, the total dropped to approximately 3000 in 2014 and 1364 in the 2016-2017 academic year. The new vision for the library includes a circulating collection of 26,000 print volumes, increased interlibrary loan services and greater access to eBook collections. Additionally, the reserve collection, one of the most popular services provided by the library, is being maintained, and we are adding a new service to our students by investing in a textbook collection for their use. Library staffing will also transform to meet the needs of 21st century learners. Credential Librarians will focus on instruction,

As the brother of an incoming SUNY Sullivan freshman, it breaks my heart that he won't have access to a library and it's appalling that the Board of Trustees would even consider closing the library.

I have done research work in libraries all over the New York City area, and I was very impressed by the collection I saw at SUNY Sullivan. Closing this library would be a loss for our community.

Let’ give our students more not less. Find cost-cutting measures elsewhere.

Save the library! This would never happen in a more affluent community.

As a graduate of this College, I am outraged and saddened that this is even being proposed!

Please don’t close the library