Yale-NUS library books disposal sparks outrage among students, alumni
It began with photos in a group chat: Dozens of white plastic bags, tightly packed with books, piled near the drop-off point at Yale-NUS College.
As word spread on the morning of May 20, students and alumni rushed to the scene, only to watch helplessly as the bags were loaded onto a recycling truck and driven away.
The books were reportedly headed to Asia Recycling in Jurong for shredding.
The mass disposal came just days after Yale-NUS College, a liberal arts institution founded in partnership with Yale University and the National University of Singapore, graduated its final cohort on May 14.
The college is being phased out as part of its merger with NUS' University Scholars Programme.
In the Yale-NUS student chat group, reactions quickly turned to shock and frustration.
"Why didn't they just tell us so we could've saved some books," one user wrote.
"Just take," suggested another. "We tried but a staff was there to stop us," came the reply.
Another user claimed: "The person just grabbed a bag from me by force."
Another pointed out: "These are stuff that are out of print!"
Ms Lee Jiaying, 21, a student from the college's final cohort, rushed to the site at around 11.20am after receiving a message and seeing the photos.
"The books were in brand-new, mostly untouched condition," she said.
"I recognised some hardcover titles that retail for over $60."
Ms Avery Huang, 23, who graduated this year with a degree in anthropology, said she had tried to speak with NUS librarians to stop the disposal.
"It was heartbreaking. These books are in perfectly good condition. It boils down to how much they care about the books - and the taxpayers' money they've used and are now throwing away," she said.
According to library staff, some books were duplicates or contained RFID security tags from NUS that could not be removed, making them ineligible for redistribution.
With limited time to decide what to do with them, the staff reportedly opted for disposal.
Ms Yin, 26, a Yale-NUS alumna, believed more could have been done: "I feel that NUS, as a global leading institution, should recognise the scarcity and preciousness of intellectual resources like books.
"We had students willing to volunteer their time to remove tags and salvage the books."
Ms Kristina Gweneth Simundo, 23, who graduated in 2024, described her reaction as a mix of "anger and grief".
"When institutions destroy knowledge so casually, they signal a disturbing disregard for memory, inquiry and the future of learning itself," she said.
Following the outcry, NUS issued an apology to the Yale-NUS community.
No public statement has been made. The New Paper has reached out to NUS for further comment.
In the meantime, the university said it would attempt to retrieve the discarded books from the recycling facility.
A book giveaway will also be held at the Yale-NUS library for the remaining titles that cannot be transferred to the NUS Central Library, including duplicates that were offered to other libraries but went unclaimed.
"The books could have benefited those who can't afford to buy them. They're precious resources. In the right hands, they would have been deeply appreciated," said Ms Lee.
NUS in a May 21 statement said: "We apologise for the operational lapse. We are reviewing our process and will take proactive steps to distribute excess books to the NUS community and the wider public."