Editorials
Friday, October 11, 1996
UH library expansion
deserves top priority
AT last, the University of Hawaii has its priorities right. It has put a $37 million expansion of Hamilton Library at the top of the list of its proposed construction program for 1997-99. Last year the library expansion was No. 10 on the list, but wasn't funded.The proposed addition would provide more space for book, journal and audio-visual collections, double existing study space and increase telecommunications capabilities.
The condition of the main UH research library has been a disgrace for years. The Legislature has permitted the library to go without improvements while it funded a new baseball stadium and an indoor sports arena. These projects appeal to sports fans in the community but are peripheral to the university's main mission, education.
The library, by contrast, is central to education. No university can hope to excel without superior library and other research resources. By neglecting the library, the state is short-changing the university and its students. Scott Nishimoto, the UH-Manoa student body president who said the library is the heart of the university, had it exactly right.
Built in 1965 and last expanded in 1977, Hamilton was designed to house 1.7 million books but currently has more than 2.9 million volumes. Lack of space has forced librarians to store $10 million worth of books at Sinclair Library, exposed to mold and insect infestation. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges has threatened UH with loss of accreditation if it did not correct the library's shortcomings.
Yet in 1994 then-Gov. John Waihee changed the priorities on the UH construction list and funded completion of the sports arena rather than improvements at three campuses and renovations at Hamilton Library. That decision pleased sports fans but at the expense of the library. This year Governor Cayetano should respect the UH list and get on with the long overdue library improvements.
Ex-Indian premier
THE prosecutions of two former presidents of South Korea on charges of corruption and treason and of a former prime minister of Japan for accepting a bribe have a counterpart in India, where a former prime minister and leader of the Congress Party faces charges of forgery and fraud. The charges against the former premier, P.V. Narasimha Rao, could affect the current government headed by Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, whose minority coalition depends on the Congress Party to stave off a parliamentary challenge by the Hindu nationalist party.
Rao resigned as prime minister last May after elections that left India with its most fragmented Parliament in its history. As in South Korea and Japan, where one party has dominated the political scene for decades, the Congress Party has ruled in India. But the prosecution of Rao should plunge the scandal-ridden party deeper into disgrace and make a comeback more difficult. Meanwhile, a shaky coalition government could fall, leaving politics in the world's largest democracy in chaos.
City car allowance
CITY department heads are losing a perk with the cancellation of their monthly car allowance, as ordered by the City Council. No longer will they received $326 a month for using their vehicles for city business. Henceforth they must keep a log of their travel and apply for reimbursement at a rate of 37 cents a mile. The new rule also applies to deputy department heads, who have been receiving $276 a month.
This will put the department heads and deputies on the same basis as other city employees except for police officers, who get as much as $488 a month. The new policy is more equitable and should save the city a little money. But before anyone starts celebrating, keep in mind that this move won't do anything to help the city attract able people to these key positions. The jobs pay considerably less than their counterparts in the private sector and they provide no job security, being exempt from civil service.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor