Califormia: The Daily Californian Online, Monday August 20th 2012.
"Of the roughly 4,000 people who took the survey, nearly 70 percent said they rely heavily on the libraries, according to University Librarian Thomas Leonard.
“We were taken (aback) by the love of libraries, and how much people seem to connect to them,” Leonard said. “People agreed they were really important for their sense of community.”
Leonard said the results also showed undergraduate students are very concerned about library hours and having a place to study, and that faculty are largely concerned about the quality of the collections. Respondents also opposed spending less money on collections, but accepted that in the long run, a new library service model was necessary due to lowered budget and staff reductions. After discussion with both the Library Committee of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate and campus library staff, the survey sought input on two proposed models, a “Full Service Libraries” model and a “Hub and Cluster” plan, both of which would reduce the current number of library branches and available research consultation locations."
