The canary in the library

David Sarasohn published yet another thoughtful editorial in the Oregonian this past Sunday (the web page dates it from 7/08, but it was in my paper this Sunday, not last). He starts by reminding readers in the rest of the state that Jackson County libraries are closed, due to the loss of federal timber money and failure to pass a local levy to replace it. The remainder of his comments relate to the struggle of Southern Oregon University (SOU), based in Ashland, to overcome the cuts of the past decade of statewide cuts in higher education.

“It’s been a bumpy year at SOU as well: the loss of about 10 percent of the teaching staff, a larger proportion of the administration and the end of several departments. For new president Mary Cullinan, just arrived from the California State University system, it was “a difficult year,” a baptism of firing.

“I certainly came to Oregon knowing Oregon had been disinvesting in higher education. Everybody in the country knows that,” she says. “What I didn’t realize, and I don’t think anybody realized until we dug into it, was just how precarious we were.” ….

SOU is overhauling its registration and counseling procedures and building its community connections. It has a strong arts program, drawing about a third of its students, and accounts for about 5 percent of the state system’s student body.

Aside from the more specialized Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls, it’s also the only state university for about 200 miles.

“Our students cannot pick up and go elsewhere,” points out Cullinan. “Our students are highly place-bound.”

I live with one prospective Class of 2012 student who is not place-bound. Our daughter, Ali, gets good grades, she’s done interesting extra-curricular activities, her parents have been able to save for her college expenses, and she doesn’t live in Southern Oregon now. I mentioned in April that she is interested in Southern Oregon University’s theater program. The closure of the Jackson County Libraries has been a serious blow to her. Our local branch of the Multnomah County library is less than a mile from home, and Ali walks there several times a week. She’s adept at reserving books on line and getting them sent over from other branches, and she likes to browse if there’s nothing special waiting. After we visited Southern Oregon University on Preview Day, she could picture herself walking down Siskiyou Boulevard from her dorm on a weekend, to pick up a book or DVD from the Ashland branch. But while she’s more interested in Harry Potter than Tom Potter (nothing personal, Mayor, she’s not particularly engaged in my civic activities, either), she knows the Jackson County libraries have closed. It’s prompting her to look elsewhere, for a place to go in fall 2008. Southern Oregon University may still be a good option for her, but without a library in the city…. well, not much of a city, is it? At least to my young urban will-be-a-professional-of-some-kind-in-five-years daughter. So we’re back on the college-search carousel. And I’m as concerned as David Sarasohn about the future of our state universities.