Augustana Destroys Ancient Chinese Texts

Rare, Ancient Library Books Destroyed

Updated: June 20, 2011 02:01 PM CDT





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Augustana library staff members made a mistake while doing some spring cleaning, and it ended up being very costly.

They accidentally destroyed a very rare and valuable ancient Chinese book collection.

"Librarians are lovers of books," said VP of Augustana Communications and Marketing, Scott Cason. "They value books greatly. Probably more than most of society. So, they feel very badly about what happened."

None of the books had been checked-out in over a decade, and in an effort to make room in the library, library staff removed and shredded the books. The 18th century collection was purchased for $8,000 roughly twenty years ago by faculty affiliated with Asian Studies.

"It was something very prized by the department," said Cason.

Cason said the library staff must now get approval from the college dean and president before recycling any more books.