Red-faced uni staff probe books ‘sale’ to junk shop

Silpakorn University (SU) has launched an investigation into why valuable books and journals were “mistakenly” sold to a junk shop.

The probe comes after a number of lecturers and book collectors slammed the university’s Wang Tha Phra Library for selling the rare books and journals to a junk shop in the Bang Bon area at a cheap price.

SU Central Library director Sakdiphan Tanwimonrat said yesterday the university doesn’t have a policy of selling old books.

A mistake occurred after books were removed from a university building ahead of renovation work, he said.

The lecturers and collectors say they bought rare Thai and foreign literature in bulk earlier this week at 10 baht per kilogramme from the junk shop in Bang Bon. Most were rare magazines and journals on sociology, archaeology, history and art.

Rungroj Piromanukul, a history lecturer at Ramkhamhaeng University, said he saw many book editions that were published more than 50 years ago.

One of the books he bought was owned by Smith Siripat, a former Silpakorn University archaeology lecturer. The lecturer’ relatives donated the book to the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles which was later passed on to the library as primary source material.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind book. It’s shameful to see it sold to a junk shop,” Mr Rungroj said.

Nanongsak Hanwong, an academic from Nakhon Ratchasima who bought history and archaeology books, says the library wants to repurchase them.

“We want the library to explain what happened,” he said, adding he will “return” all the books this weekend.

Udom Rattanawong, the junk shop owner, said he bought three tonnes of unwanted books from the library at two baht per kilogramme.

He said he took the books from the library last Tuesday while the staff were on their lunch break.