Big news on the internet today is that good old Kent State is about to reduce number of books in its library by 50 percent.   They say for space reasons, but we here on Bobcat Attack have been saying for years they just Kent read (or rite) anyway.  My suggestion is they store them over at the football stadium. Nobody goes there anyway.   Just hope they don't call in National Guard to burn them.

Well, as a two-time OU alum living in Kent (my fiancee is working on her second degree, a PhD, from Kent State), I can say there are a lot of things to really like about KSU. The whole "Kent read, Kent write, Kent State" thing is funny to say, but it's a good school. And the university library is pretty nice. It's on par with Alden and it may even be a little bigger. Plus, the city has an amazing - and free - library with a very strong county library system.

The city and university are working together in ways you will never see Athens/OU pairing. There's about to be several hundred million of city/university spending that's going to change the face of the town. The opportunities I see afforded those studying print journalism here far exceed what I was offered while at Scripps. And, honestly, people are a lot nicer here, and I say that as someone who was born in Athens and spent the first 25+ years of my life there.

Sure, the football stadium is empty all the time and the basketball arena stinks compared to The Convo. And I will never, ever cheer for the Flashes. But I have found it a lot easier to take pot shots from Athens than to see any constructive work done in my old backyard.

I've found that the situations aren't totally different. For instance, in Kent State you've got a president in Lester Lefton who himself isn't some kind of Sowle-like visionary. He's been in hot water over things like taking big bonuses in a climate of repeated tuition hikes. And I've heard from a local restaurant owner who wouldn't mislead about something like this that Lefton himself doesn't much want his students eating off-campus (i.e., supporting local places). And in the city, you've got a much different structure than Athens. Kent does have a mayor, but he's very much a figurehead. The most powerful person in the city government is the city manager.

And Kent has a real ass-kicker of a city manager Dave Ruller. He's even got a blog. Who doesn't, right? Anyway, Kent's in a rather unique situation: It's a very progressive city with a very business-friendly climate. Between Ruller and another ass-kicker in the business development office, you've got two very powerful advocates for the city. Now, despite this big redevelopment, I do see that it hasn't always been like this. In fact, a lot of the local media coverage is colored as surprised that it's finally happening, after years of little progress.

But this is what brings me the most joy to say (and those of you who know me know why): None of this would have happened without the millions of dollars in STIMULUS money that the city just won. It pulled in $20+ million for a transit hub that was the key to every other future downtown development. Without that, the other projects, which have just started, would have never gotten the momentum. (Same goes for the hundreds of jobs it's going to bring.) Plus, there's now a sense in the city that the city and university have finally realized that they're in it together, so they're both putting their best feet forward on these projects.

One difference that should be noted is that Athens has a much more fully developed downtown than does Kent. This big redevelopment will take place in a part of downtown that had somewhat languished. That said, it's still awesome to see development of any kind after living in a town that couldn't/wouldn't fill the Woolworth's vacancy on Court St. So where Athens failed in bringing sprawl to East State Street, Kent is going to succeed in redeveloping its downtown area. Two huge area businesses are actually moving BACK downtown. When does that ever happen?

So whatever Kent's doing, Athens should be studying it. Because it's working up here.

I think this pretty much nails it.  When Athens and OU come to that conclusion, we'll realize the true potential of this town and university.

Space is the reason.  There is an initiative across the state to share more resources amongst the libraries.  We all have a lot  duplication and we (libraries) are trying to make an effort to reduce that duplication and excel at your strengths.  The Ohiolink system has beena very good tool.

The state could no longer afford to keep building libraries and expanding book budgets.  Plus, with more resources online, much easier to get your materials.

HERETIC!!!!!