ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : UCI Library: A Need for Review

Serious problems, including charges of racism and low employee morale, have plagued UC Irvine’s library for more than a year. A recent faculty report focused blame on the library’s chief administrator, Calvin Boyer. It asked the university administration to evaluate him immediately and to review UCI’s policy for the head librarian, a post that is not subject to the same review as department heads. UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason should follow through on these recommendations.

The faculty committee conducted its study after receiving complaints that some employees had mocked Asian and Middle Eastern library patrons. There were also concerns expressed by library staffers that minority and women workers were denied promotions unfairly and charges that the library had dragged its feet in minority recruitment on a campus where half the student body consists of minorities.

The committee found the problems were more the result of poor management and “a highly politicized work environment” than of any intent by library officials to mistreat minorities or women. It described the library as in a crisis stemming from a “very serious morale problem.”

Reacting to the report, Boyer said press attention and the faculty study had exacerbated the library’s problems. He said that mistreatment incidents were isolated and that the record on hiring was good. That’s not an adequate response. The administration should review Boyer’s tenure and take appropriate action to ensure that the library’s leadership is in step with the changes taking place as UCI heads into the 21st Century.