美国国家公共电台 NPR--Students speak out about one university's plans to have a digital-only library

Students speak out about one university's plans to have a digital-only library

Transcript¹

The new Vermont State University officially launches this summer, but it is already making news. The school's plan to switch to all-digital libraries sparked a backlash.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

What's a library like without books? My kid's school library removed most of the books, creating a space to use in other ways. And apparently², the university system in Vermont wanted this, too. They proposed taking library books off the shelves of at least three campus libraries and offering digital copies instead. That would save money, but...

ROSIE PHELAN: I was shocked. I was really taken aback when I heard that that was happening.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Rosie Phelan is an English major who works in the library at Castleton University. That's one of three colleges merging³ to create a new Vermont State University.

PHELAN: You go to a college and you expect to have these resources, and the next thing you know, they're just taken away.

INSKEEP: Phelan insists students still use physical books.

PHELAN: Every morning, I go around the library and we have different carts everywhere. And some days, I'll be picking up stacks of books that have been used within the library. I mean, most of the time, just because people aren't taking the books back doesn't mean they're not using them.

FADEL: Now, the university system said a request for physical materials and books plummeted⁴ in recent years.

INSKEEP: But now that faculty⁵ and students have spoken up for physical books, administrators⁶ refined their plans. Some paper books will remain. Biology professor Preston Garcia says that still falls short.

PRESTON GARCIA: Any publisher will tell you that every single printed copy of any book is not digitally available right now. We're just not at that point in society. So, yeah, it is a form of censorship.

FADEL: And some students say removing physical books reduces accessibility. Allison Fiske is a nursing student who says ADHD makes it harder for her to read digital copies.

ALLISON FISKE: I'll lose my place or get bored really easily 'cause it's just not the same as having a physical book there.

INSKEEP: There is something about a physical book. The university system has said it plans to keep a collection of what it calls popular casual reading books and some children's books with paper pages.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARTY'S "LAST KISS")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

4 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

6 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城