Sixty-nine thesis writers were placed on Olin Library’s research carrel wait list last Monday, an extraordinary number compared to past years, University Librarian Barbara Jones said.
Out of 179 applications received for the carrel lottery, 108 students received carrels, 69 were placed on the wait list and two on the late wait list for failing to meet the application deadline.
Last year, 35 people were placed on the wait list and nine on the late wait list. By year’s end, 14 of those on the regular wait list had been placed in carrels. According to Jones, last year’s results were close to an average year.
Both a spike in applications and the loss of several carrels contributed to the shortage. The eight carrels located on the bottom floor of Science Library were eliminated this year due to renovations, Science Librarian Steve Bischof said. Those carrels will be replaced by next fall.
In the past week, students have expressed their unhappiness with the lottery system. According to Administrative Assistant Ann Marino, one student tearfully pleaded to those in charge of the lottery that he had waited three years for a carrel.
“We try to make everyone happy but we just don’t have enough carrels,” Marino said.
Luke Schleusener ’07, a wait-listed applicant, said that the University should try to make adjustments.
“I think the University should commit to expanding the number of thesis carrels,” Schleusener said. “If there are consistently over 30 people placed on the wait list, it seems like we should add that many more.”
The Library Committee, composed of Jones, members of the Wesleyan Student Assembly, and other interested students, will meet within the next three weeks to discuss issues related to carrels.
“Considering the science library just lost eight carrels, it would behoove the University to think about creating some more,” said Educational Policy Committee Chair Sam Ruth ’08.
Jones emphasized that the library does not have sufficient funds or space to build more single-person carrels with doors. She said that the University should look into furniture options and group carrel settings in which six or more students occupy shared space. Middlebury, Oberlin, and Williams Colleges have all undertaken similar projects and have had successful results.
“One closed room for every student is impractical,” Jones said. “We have no money to knock down walls and build single rooms.”
Of the carrel recipients, 88 have single rooms, six have double rooms, and eight have group carrel assignments.
The library office tries to be as objective as possible in their selection of students, according to Associate Librarian Pat Tully.
“The way we select students is like picking names out of a hat,” Tully said. “There is no preferential treatment.”
Yet Tully said that the system still has room for improvement. She encourages students to email her with any suggestions they have about carrels.
“We’re open to anything that will make this process more fair,” Tully said. “I want to look at all the possibilities.”
Since 2002, senior essay writers have been allowed to enter the lottery with an equal chance of receiving a carrel. However, this year, no senior essay writers applied.
“Allowing senior essay writers to occupy carrels is one area that might need some rethinking,” Tully said.
Three people who received singles have already decided to share their rooms with classmates, and at least three more students are expected to follow suit, Jones said.
Students on the wait list who decide to take a peer’s offer forfeit eligibility for carrels that open up. Two students near the top of the waiting list decided to take spaces in the microforms room, which makes them ineligible for personal carrels as well.
Bret Langendorfer ’07 said that he was disappointed upon not receiving a carrel and that he was contemplating taking a spot in the microform room.
“I will probably ask my friend to share his room with me, just for storing books,” Langendorfer said. “However, that might not leave us with much space.”
For underclassmen anticipating usage of carrel space, the sooner improvements are made the better.
“What having a carrel at Wesleyan symbolizes to me is that you no longer wear diapers,” said Henry Arias ’08. “You have reached grown-up status.”
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