Have they gone MAD !!!
June S
=================================
From another list: a letter from the distinguished historian Joan
Scott about plans to destroy the NY Public Library at 42nd St.as a
*research*
library. I'll add that the very large Mid-Manhattan circulating
library is only one block away, and that the 42nd Street library
already has a coffee bar. I urge adding your name to the letter of
protest. -- JL
============ =======================>>
From: *Joan Scott* <jws(a)ias.edu>
Date: Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 4:59 PM
Subject: A letter to the NYPL
Dear Colleagues,
Several of us, concerned about the direction being taken by the plan
to restructure the New York Public Library, have written the attached
letter to Anthony Marx. We hope you will be willing to sign it and to
send it to others who may wish to sign as well.
If you wish to sign, simply send me an email--I'm collecting signatures.
Many thanks
Joan W. Scott
Harold F. Linder Professor
School of Social Science
Institute for Advanced Study
Princeton, NJ 08540
======================================
Anthony Marx
New York Public Library
Dear Dr. Marx,
We write, as scholars, writers, researchers and teachers, who have long
benefitted from the services and collections available to us at the four
research facilities of the New York Public Library. We are alarmed by
the Central Library Plan, which seems to us to be a misplaced use of
funds in a time of great scarcity. The budget cutbacks of the past five
years have had disastrous effects for the NYPL’S research libraries, and
especially 42nd Street:
*the skilled staff vital to supporting our research activities—curators,
archivists, bibliographers and librarians—have been drastically reduced
in number;
*the Slavic and Baltic division and the Asian and Middle Eastern
division have been entirely eliminated; and there is no full-time
curator for the Slavic collection.
*the Schomburg Library in Harlem—THE place to do research on
African-American history-- has been allowed to deteriorate through the
postponement both of capital improvements and of computer upgrading;
*The Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center is no longer a
haven for scholars and critics. Many of the reference librarians who
specialized in dance, music, recorded sound, and theater wre eliminated,
moved off the reference desks or offered buyouts.
Instead of addressing these issues, the CLP will spend over $300 million
on a restructuring of the 42nd Street building which includes a huge
expansion of public space, the removal of stacks (and and the 3 million
books in them), and the creation of a circulating library in the
building. While we understand that it may be necessary to store some
books in order to make room for others and that more computer access may
be necessary for users of the library, the changes planned envision a
much more radical transformation.
NYPL will lose its standing as a premier research institution (second
only to the Library of Congress in the US),--a destination for
international as well as American scholars-- and become a busy social
center where focused research is no longer the primary goal. Books will
be harder to get when they’re needed either because of delays in
locating them in the storage facility or because they have been checked
out to borrowers. Those of us who also use university libraries know how
frustrating it is to discover that the book we need immediately is
checked out or lost. And we worry about the effects of removing the
stacks that now support the glorious Rose Reading Room. More important,
perhaps, is that the CLP seems to make no mention of restoring the staff
positions that have been lost and that are critical for the functioning
of a major research institution.
One of the claims made about the CLP is that it will “democratize” the
NYPL, but that seems to be a misunderstanding of what that word means.
The NYPL is already among the most democratic institutions of its kind.
Anyone can use it; no credentials are needed to gain entry. More space,
more computers, a café, and a lending library will not improve an
already democratic institution. In fact, the absence of expert staff
will diminish the accessibility of the collections to those who aren’t
already experienced researchers, narrowing the constituency who can
profitably use the library. They will be able to borrow books, to be
sure, but they won’t be inducted into the world of archives and
collections if staff aren’t there to guide them. Also, in the age of the
web, we need, more than ever, skilled, expert librarians who can assist
us in navigating the new databases and the back alleys of cyberspace. We
understand that it is often easier to raise money by attending to
buildings (and naming them), but the real need at the NYPL is for the
preservation of a great library and the support of its staff.
We appreciate the fact that you have established a committee consisting
of some critics of the CLP to advise you. We hope you will take a hard
look at the plan you’ve been given and revise it so that the splendid
culture of research embodied by the NYPL can be maintained. We think the
money raised can be better used to preserve and extend what already
exists at 42ND street. Change is always necessary, but not of the kind
envisioned by the CLP.
Signed:
--
June Samaras
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : june.samaras(a)gmail.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Library Ladies List" group.
To post to this group, send email to library-ladies-list(a)googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
library-ladies-list+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/library-ladies-list?hl=en.
--
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamosbooks(a)gmail.com
www.kalamosbooks.com
http://kalamosb.alibrisstore.com/
http://www.antiqbook.com/books/bookseller.phtml/kal