by Amber Hunt
First published 2024
Sarah Chen watches as the college administration announces the closure of Whitmore University's century-old library. As head librarian, she must oversee the systematic dismantling of the collection she has spent fifteen years building and protecting. The board claims digitization makes physical books obsolete, but Sarah knows the real reason involves budget cuts and prime real estate. She faces impossible choices: which books deserve saving, which staff members to let go, and how to preserve the heart of academic life when everything around her crumbles. Students organize protests while faculty members scramble to relocate their research materials. Sarah finds herself caught between her loyalty to the institution and her duty to preserve knowledge itself. The story explores what happens when economic pressures collide with intellectual values, and one woman must decide how far she will go to save what she believes matters most.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, contemporary, books-about-books, college, academia, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: loyalty-vs-duty, woman-in-charge
Setting: Whitmore University
Period: 21st Century
116 pages · Paperback · Assoc of College & Research Libraries