Five VTSU Castleton students and their professor have created a documentary following the controversial, and now rescinded, decision to get rid of all VTSU libraries.

By Emily Ely

In a world where libraries are facing a digital takeover, the news of the Vermont State University’s impending library loss sent shockwaves through the student body last year. “Error 404: Books Not Found,” a documentary produced by student filmmakers under the guidance of Professor Sam Davis-Boyd in her documentary and filmmaking course, dives deep into the heart of this campus crisis.

As whispers of administrative optimization echo through the halls, this class of Castleton students grapple with the harsh reality outlined in an email from the university’s then-president, Parwinder Grewal. The documentary not only follows the proposal to turn campus libraries solely into meeting spaces and the shift toward digitized access, but also raises profound questions about trust, transparency and true motives behind higher up institutional decisions.

Premiering at 6:30 p.m. April 24, in Herrick Auditorium on the VTSU Castleton campus, this film promises to be a wake-up call for those trying to understand what’s really going on behind the scenes at VTSU and how they will change the academic landscape. The screening is free and open to the public.

“It’s beyond the idea of just losing a library. It’s us trying to see the bigger picture and figure out how higher-up decisions are made without student input. Where is our faith in the administration?” said Will Smith, one of the producers of the documentary.

Initially, this project originated in a standard three-credit class that began in the spring semester 2023.

“I had a whole semester’s worth of projects and assignments planned out. A month into the semester, this news dropped about the optimization (plan), and the potential loss of the library and athletics,” said Davis-Boyd. “I floated the idea of a potential film topic and asked if we wanted to follow this story. Everybody was fired up about what was going on, so they wanted to follow it.”

As the semester wrapped up, the documentary remained unfinished. However, five students in the class — Lily Doton, Will Smith, Maddie Lindgren, Jacob “Gonzo” Gonzalez and Jacob Ruben — felt strongly about continuing the project beyond the class’s timeframe.

“The story wasn’t done, and quite frankly it’s still not done. These students didn’t want to just stop it, and neither did I,” said Davis-Boyd.

It took a year and a half to finally complete the documentary. Although Doton and Gonzalez graduated from Castleton as the documentary progressed, they returned to campus weekly to work alongside the rest of the crew until the project was completed.

When Smith was asked about the title of the documentary, he dove into its significance, explaining that the ever-present “404 error” message that appears on web pages signifies that a page does not exist. Smith credited his co-producer Doton for conceptualizing the title.

Expanding on this, Doton highlighted the title’s intent, and emphasized the everlasting importance of print materials. She cautioned against an over-reliance on the internet, saying that “print materials are essential, and though the internet is incredibly interconnected within our lives and seemingly reliable, we don’t fully know the implications of a library going completely digital.”

Smith later went on to articulate concerns about the control wielded by those curating an online database.

“We need to realize that those who decide what print material is transferred to an online database from our libraries have control over what we learn, what we see and what we are able to access,” Smith said.

This idea resonated strongly with the majority of the individuals on the film crew, who echoed similar concerns about potential consequences of a solely digital library system.

This film that originated as a class assignment has transformed into a student passion project. Lindgren discussed the drive that fueled the hours of continuous work that the team of students and professor spent on the documentary.

“Since this topic was so personal and close to us as students, it reflected in the work we were creating. We wanted to make a change and spread awareness, which is clearly shown in the documentary, this is why we continued,” Lindgren said.

Gonzalez agreed that the awareness of the importance of a library to a college campus is something that needs to be understood by all. Gonzalez says that a library is “the epicenter of what an education institution is. Without a library, there’s no reason to come to Castleton.”

The crew noted that working on this documentary and taking a true deep dive into this topic of optimization hasn’t made them reconsider their residency as students at Castleton, but it has made them reconsider the true intentions of the administration and the Vermont State Colleges System board of trustees.

Ruben said that working on this documentary gave him an in-depth look and an “insight about what was happening behind the scenes within Castleton,” and the weary feeling that arose from these discussions that were kept under wraps.

The documentary’s crew hopes those who view it realize that there are bigger issues at play than just the loss of a library. They want to re-spark the passion and emotions that originally rose from the student body and Vermont communities when the first email about optimization was released. They want the audience to understand that VTSU’s optimization initiative isn’t over — it’s an ongoing plan — and how harmful the administration’s decisions can be when the students are not consulted or aware of them taking place.

Emily Ely reported this story on assignment from the Rutland Herald. The Community News Service is a program in which students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.