J. Willard Marriott Library

Greg Chirstoffersen

AWESOME PLACE!!! They have everything.

J Ram

The library’s mission: "inspire the creation, discovery and use of knowledge for Utah and the world." Does the library fulfill this mission? It does not. The library has made a systemic push to make resources less engaging and less available. Books have been expelled into endless beige shelves, all tightly packed together, and pulled apart by patrons with a manual crank. These sandwiched shelves seem to maximize storage and snuff human engagement. Why have the books been banished from their open, well lit, browsable shelves? Well, for more free space! And the purpose of the free space? They didn't know, so they asked for suggestions on a white board. The suggestions clamored for the return of the books. Eventually, like the rest of the University, that space was designated as yet more open space for chillin'. And in a corner, for the production of 3d printed novelties that create one-second of wonder and then a lifetime of plastic pollutant for the landfill. Was space tight? I don't think so. The bottom floor boosts two snack bars and a standalone machine dispensing raw cookie dough (really). Up next: ball pit and inflatable slide. Is this a University library or a playground? You decide. As I wander at the U, I see many new buildings, all amorphous "student service" spaces. They are persistently empty and unused, while academic departments and academic resources are moth balled. I assume that University administrators measure their success by erecting new, useless buildings. Much like the Egyptian pyramids, they serve the ego of rulers and are built on the backs of servants. In this case, the servants are undergraduates paying rising tuition with stagnant wages. Come, check out the cramped floors dedicated to the Philosophy and English departments. Their finishes are so thread-bare that they would make an LDS meeting house blush. And best to ignore the math department, where abandoned elementary schools in the rust belt offer more welcoming accomodations. Oh Muses, come down from your pedastals! We are stripping your vocations to dress you in our licensed sports apparel. Time to strut for the donor class. Their money is needed to expand the stadium seating. Go shake it on the field, Caliope! Hang high our championship banners, oh Clio! Pump out those sultry Tik Toks dear Erato, and don't forget the hastags #uofu, #dontbotherthelibrarians, #vainglorybeourcause. I have much more ranting welled up inside of me. I will reserve it for further reviews of the University of Utah's misguided infrastructure policy and the deliberate crippling of their own noble mission.

Andru Herdz

I'm not very happy with their policies about general public reduce hours