The National University of Singapore (NUS) has issued an apology on Wednesday (May 21) after it received backlash for disposing hundreds of Yale-NUS books.

Videos of Yale-NUS books being collected by a recycling company had circulated online on Tuesday (May 20).  

The Straits Times reported that approximately 60 to 70 bags of books, each weighing between 10 and 15 kg, were cleared.

The move comes as Yale-NUS closes its doors for good after the final batch of 257 students graduate in June.

In response to the disposal of books, an online petition calling for retrieval of the books and prevention of similar wastage was started the same day. 

The petition by students and alumni had alleged that a minimum of "2,000 books, worth at least $100,000" were thrown away.

It has since garnered over 600 signatures as of 12pm on May 21.

A document was also attached in the petition, which detailed the timeline of events after the books were picked up by the recycling company, Green Orange Environ.

According to the document, Green Orange Environ had transported all of the books to be shredded by local recycling facility, Asia Recycling Resources.

When students reached out to Asia Recycling Resources, they were told that reclamation of the books was unlikely as they would have been shredded at the earliest time, the document stated. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, Associate Professor Natalie Pang, the University Librarian of NUS, released a statement apologising for the "operational lapse".

She stated that in maintaining NUS' library collections, "excess books are routinely rehomed in other libraries or given away to faculty members and, at times, students".

Books which are not taken up are then sent for recycling, in line with common library practices, she added.

In relation to the current exercise of relocating books from the Yale-NUS College Library, Pang said that the majority of books were rehomed within NUS Libraries.

However, she admitted that in this instance, excess books were offered only to faculty members and not students.

"We did not do so on this occasion, and we apologise for the operational lapse," she stated.

Pang said that NUS is currently organising a giveaway on campus "in view of the strong interest from students".

She added that NUS is also reviewing its process and will "take proactive steps to distribute excess books to the NUS community and the wider public, so that they can benefit as many people as possible".

Shaharaj Ahmed, who graduated from Yale-NUS in 2023 and currently works in asset management, told AsiaOne that he was dismayed by the disposal, adding that more effort could have been put in to find new owners for the books.

"They had four years," said the 24-year-old, referring to Yale-NUS' announcement of its closure in 2021.

Another alumnus, Crystal Low, shared: "When I saw videos of bag after bag of precious books being carelessly flung onto the truck for shredding, I was crushed."

The 27-year-old writer and illustrator also told AsiaOne that there had been a community book giveaway on campus during the Yale-NUS alumni reunion last Saturday (May 17) to which those books could have been donated.

jengjee.hoon@asiaone.com

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