Grand Valley State University will break ground on the new Mary Idema Pew Library and Learning Commons on Tuesday. Several years and $25 million in the making, the Pew Library will feature 20 group study rooms plus offices and support areas for faculty and staff members. There will be room for 150,000 books on shelves and another 600,000 books in an automated storage/retrieval system. One thing it will not feature, though, is an increased amount of shelf space for books compared to what is currently in Zumberge Library.

Despite the more than 600,000 books on shelves at both of GVSU’s libraries, volumes of GVSU’s literary collection are still in storage. For years, the administration has pointed out the many ways Zumberge, which was built in 1969, no longer meets the needs of the ever-growing student body; thus the need for the new state-of-the-art library. After construction of the new library is complete, Zumberge will be used for offices and storage. Though it will no longer be the main library on the Allendale Campus, Zumberge could still serve a better purpose than office space; there is no reason it could not continue to house books, making even more literature available for GVSU students to check out.

Technology is now a staple in researching and accessing information, but physical books still have their place in academics and on library shelves. Many students are not aware of the extensive online library, and even those who attempt to access the material often find the search techniques difficult to navigate. Also, there is the difference in carrying a physical book out of the library to read at any convenience and being tethered to a digital device, which many people find less convenient for reading lengthy material. The purpose of the new library is to make information more available to students, but that will not happen if more of GVSU’s complete library is not accessible. Technology and traditional books should not be exclusive of each other, and the new Pew Library and Zumberge do not need to be either. Books are a fundamental, seemingly obvious, part of a library. But in all the hype about the innovative Learning Commons, GVSU has lost sight of the original library and the valuable resources buried with its excess books.