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What the outcry over discarded Yale-NUS books reveals – and why it matters
The backlash wasn’t just a sentimental response. It was about valuing print and the stewardship of resources.
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![CMG20250521-RChiong01/张俊杰/胡洁梅/Interview with Associate Professor Natalie Pang, University Librarian, National University of Singapore [Yale-NUS Library]
Some of the 8500 of the 9000 books that were due to be recycled were seen on half-empty shelves in the Yale-NUS Library on May 21, 2025.](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/straitstimes/ce3b21d90fa71c084d48f6d55c0ae4446ab96bf51493539c81e9f316464add31?w=480)
Some 500 books were recycled but the backlash arrived just in time to save another 8,500 books from being discarded.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE - If not for the groundswell of response from alumni, 9,000 Yale-NUS library books would have been quietly pulped and never seen again.
On May 20, these books were packed into white plastic bags and loaded onto a recycling truck a week after the college’s final graduation ceremony.
