Editorial: Firestone access for friends

According to its access policy, Firestone Library opens its doors only to University students, faculty, registered researchers and those affiliated with a library network known as “SHARES.” SHARES is a worldwide consortium of museums and academic institutions — including Princeton and other Ivy League schools — and facilitates lending and resource use among its members. If guests of Princeton students are affiliated with a SHARES institution, then they are welcome to use the resources in Firestone. But college students from outside of this network must pay a weekly fee of $30 to use these same resources, with increasing dues for longer access. This policy also extends to other important libraries on campus, including the Marquand Library, the Psychology Library and the Fine Hall Annex.

Though perhaps excessively strict, there is a good reason for this policy: It helps to protect Princeton’s valuable academic resources. It prevents Firestone from becoming a tourist destination and decreases the risk of theft of or damage to books by limiting the access to library stacks. Before the policy was in place, students would often find study spaces occupied by community members, and librarians would often find books with whole pages torn out. Simply cutting down the number of individuals with access to Firestone has significantly cut down these issues.

But the University could make small modifications to its library access policy to benefit the guests of the Princeton community without compromising its protection of our resources. Allowing Princeton students to register guests who are staying with them at the access office would be a simple compromise to make. A new guest access policy could set limits on the number of days each Princeton student could allocate to their guest, and being a guest would not include borrowing privileges. Access could be limited only to those guests with an active affiliation with another college or university, and this would be simply a small extension of the service Princeton already provides to students in the SHARES network. Just as SHARES institutions sponsor their affiliates, Princeton students could also sponsor their guests.

Though there would not be the same reciprocal relationship with another institution, granting this exception would provide benefits to guests of students without any major cost or downsides. Giving these guests access to Firestone and other libraries would allow them the convenience of doing their academic work while visiting their friends at Princeton. Though visitors often engage in the social aspects of campus life, opening the library to them would incorporate them into the academic life of the University — a side of Princeton our friends might otherwise miss.