An e-mail sent Wednesday to about 50 Eastern students who were hired to move library material into the renovated Booth Library said that they would have to head home without the on-campus winter break job and the income they expected.

The winter project cancellation is due to the fact that the $21 million Booth Library renovation is not on schedule.

The task of carrying books from the McAfee Gymnasium and other temporary library locations to the new Booth Library was to be done over the winter break.

Ken Bauer, a junior journalism and pre-law major and hired worker, said that he and the other employees were to be paid $8.25 per hour, and were to be employed for at least a month at up to 54 hours a week.

Eastern contracted William B. Meyer Inc., a professional library moving company, who in turn contracted Mattoon-based MANPOWER, a company who specializes in finding employees, to recruit students for the job. Meyer sent the e-mail to the employees, postponing their jobs.

“Unfortunately, due to the delays at the University beyond our control, we have been forced to cancel the planned move to begin on December 11, 2001,” the e-mail, from Meyer Library employee, Laura said. “We sincerely apologize to all of you knowing the effort you put forth.”

The e-mail also said the work had been postponed “indefinitely.”

Bauer said the announcement, which came five days before the work was supposed to begin, “doesn’t give (the hired workers) a sufficient amount of time to hunt for jobs before the holidays.”

Amanda Douglass, a senior journalism major and a hired worker, said the announcement “was a shock.”

“I had everything planned out, but now I’ll just be sitting at home unemployed,” she said.

Douglass also mentioned that she would have used the money made from the job to help support her after graduation until she found decent employment.

Mark Taylor, a junior industrial technology education major and hired worker, said that he too was disappointed about the postponement.

“Now I have to work at home instead of staying around here and making twice as much money,” Taylor said. “I doubt that I can work in January, if the job continues then, due to my heavy class load.”

Bauer mentioned that he would get by without the job, but he wanted to spend the extra money on his six-year-old daughter’s Christmas presents.

“I honestly hope that the Eastern faculty responsible for this mishap think about this when they are happily celebrating Christmas with their children,” he said.