By Rob McLaren

DUNDEE UNIVERSITY is throwing away thousands of books due to “demands on space”—even though a £7.5 million library extension is due to open next year.

Academic books which have not been taken out for more than 10 years are being discarded by the university’s main library in Small’s Wynd.

A Dundee University student who contacted The Courier said students had been told that 22,000 books were being disposed of.

She said, “The decision to throw out literally thousands of books, many of which are endowed to the university, is causing a great deal of unrest among students and staff.

“We have been told that any book which has not been taken out in the last 10 years is being thrown out.

“But a lot of the academic books are big, heavy books that students choose to look at in the library rather than take out.

“Some books have many volumes and it might be the case that five of the six volumes have been taken out in the last 10 years—but the one volume that hasn’t, has been thrown out. There aren’t even complete sets of some books anymore.

“It has been happening over the course of this year. Seeing skips full of books outside the university has become a common sight.”

A spokesman for Dundee University last night did not confirm the number of books that were being thrown away by the university, but stated that none were of “significant academic importance.”

He said, “In common with all other university libraries in the UK, Dundee University has had to review its holdings.

“We have taken the decision that we should get rid of some old textbooks. Included among those are some which have not been consulted for a decade or more.

“There are demands upon space in our library, as with many others, as we continue to add new texts.

“The policy of discarding books remains under constant review and we have no intention of getting rid of books that are of significant academic importance or those which are necessary for students pursuing their studies.

“We are making a major investment in our library services, with a new £7.5 million extension to the main library opening in 2007.”

The 20,000 square foot extension is designed to relieve pressure on other parts of the library by housing various teaching and meeting rooms, a floor dedicated to computers and a large cafe.