PORTLAND, Ore. — More than a week after Portland Police cleared Portland State (PSU)’s library of pro-Palestinian protesters, who occupied the library for days, cleanup is ongoing.
Recently, library staff found a collection of valuable items, which were feared to be missing. Among those items are rare books, a rare comic book collection and records that are not digitized. PSU also has writings from Frederick Douglass, said Michael Bowman, the interim dean of the library.
“There’s the rare book room, which is locked, and it doesn’t appear that anyone entered that,” Bowman said.
During the occupation, Bowman said the library archivist entered the library and convinced protesters to move from the room where valuable items were stored. The room was then barred from entry.
“The value of the stuff in that room is more than everything else in the collection,” Bowman said.
Still, many workers are extremely upset by the damage to the library. Administrators don’t expect the library to reopen until the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.
“What right did they — a couple score of student protesters — have to deny the space and the services and the collections to the 21,000 other students at the university?” Bowman asked. “It’s just been a very severe impact, you know, grief and trauma, on the employees.”
Currently, many library workers are working remotely, he added. Some are temporarily working in other campus buildings. PSU is also looking to find a location to use as a temporary library, though no building has been settled on yet.
“The first time I saw it, it was heartbreaking,” Heather Randol, PSU’s Director of Facilities and Property Management said of the damage to the library.
While crews have made progress to repair damage, there is still months of work ahead of them, Randol said. Many walls and floors are still covered in messaging. Bookshelves and desks also may need to be replaced and refurbished. There is also damage to computers, TVs and some glass walls that will need to be replaced. Many of the books inside the library were not damaged.
It’s not yet clear how much it will cost to clean the library and replace damaged equipment, Randol said.