Save the European Reading Room at the LC!

Sympathy for the Contractors

2008-05-01T14:40:00.006-04:00

The "re-location" process has hit its first major snag: the shift to the SE Pavillion is now scheduled for July 1, 2008. Furthermore, we now have official assurances that all resources of the reading room will be preserved. According to a memorandum:

"All reference materials now available to readers will be moved into the new space. Reference and curatorial services will remain exactly as they are now--provided by the same staff. There will be no interruption in service." (Our emphasis.)

Obviously, this is positive news. But our hearts and prayer go the contracts who must effect this change. For instance, here is a picture of *one* of the items that the new space will have to accommodate.

To say nothing of the shelves near the window, the shelves on the floor in the middle of the desks are longer than the diameter of the SE Pavilion. On an even more mundane note, take a look at this newspaper rack:

Will this even be able to fit in a room where the only wall space is sandwiched in between windows or tall doors?

Obviously, it's hard to determine these things with the naked eye. That's why we wish the contractors all the best. Keeping all the ERR's resources will be a very challenging feat. Some of us would even consider it an impossible feat and would recommend keeping ERR as the excellent resource that it is before it's too late.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Researchers?

2008-04-17T19:44:00.004-04:00

The Library of Congress ostensibly received word on Friday, April 4th, about a protest in the European Reading Room. Perhaps this was the first time that so many quiet, respectable readers faced patrols in the middle of the day. The pictures below are definitely worth a thousand words. Considering that the former was taken at 4 p.m. on a Friday, one might surmise that the ERR has a pretty high degree of readership. In the meantime, Demolition Day is less than 2 weeks away. Any word yet about where we are going to put all those books?

A Bad April Fool's Joke??

2008-04-01T19:43:00.001-04:00

European Reading Room staff were told mid-afternoon Tuesday that the Library has set May 1, 2008 as "Demolition Day" -- the demolition of the current European Reading Room will begin on that day for conversion to exhibition space.

The goal of the Library is to have the Southeast Pavilion ready as a functioning reading room by April 21, only thirteen working days from now. As of this afternoon, there was still no clear idea how equipping the new space as a reading room would be funded, much less actually implemented in fewer than three weeks.

Letters of concern and protest are critical now, especially to the Librarian of Congress (email:
jbil@loc.gov, or libofc@loc.gov; fax 202-707-1714).

Thanks to everyone for their support.

Majority of None, Part II

2008-03-28T14:00:00.003-04:00

This just in from a staff member on the proposed message about the staff being "quite happy" with the re-location to the SE Pavilion.

"We were disappointed and even angered to have these words put into our mouths. We are by no means "quite happy" with the situation. Yesterday, when shown an earlier draft of Marcum's statement, we strongly objected to the "quite happy" phrasing and urged it be changed. You can see the final result. If in fact the current RR is to be converted into exhibition
space -- a decision that is apparently final, we are told, we are resigned to that political reality;
given the two alternatives presented to us (moving to the SE Pavilion and retaining our identity as the European RR; moving into the Main Reading Room and losing our identity as a RR), most staff currently prefer the first option. Our first priority is and will remain providing the highest quality service possible to our readers, whether they are on-site in our reading room or virtual users."

"Thank you all for your support - we are very grateful."

A Majority of None

2008-03-28T10:25:00.001-04:00

Members of the Coalition have received a message from Associate Librarian of Library Services Deanna Marcum, to the effect that the ERR staff is "very happy" with the "relocation" of the ERR. The truth is a bit more complex and much less happy than the message implies. The EURR staff has been pressured for several days by the administration to sign a statement, consistent with Marcum's claim. Please note that the staff has REFUSED to oblige and has not supported it. Marcum's statement speaks for a majority of none.

Chronicle of Higher Ed Citation

2008-03-28T08:09:00.004-04:00

Scholars Question Library of Congress's Plan to Relocate a Reading Room

By JENNIFER HOWARD

March 25, 2008

Researchers who use the European Reading Room at the Library of Congress are up in arms over rumors that it is about to be shut down to make way for exhibition space. They have begun a grass-roots campaign to urge concerned scholars to write protest letters.

Link here.

A One-Way Ticket to Nowhere

2008-03-26T22:53:00.005-04:00

Library patrons report that construction workers appeared in the European Reading Room on Wednesday. No one was entirely sure why. To plan its destruction? The destructive urge is a creative one, and the quick pace of events creates more questions than it answers.

For instance, what about the theory that this room will be "re-located" back to the SE Pavilion? Before we even examine the notion, let's note that the proposed "re-location" will require a trans-valuation of the library's mission. Right now, the Library enables reading and research. There is also room for exhibits. By converting the research facilities into exhibit facilities and cramming the core activities into the equivalent of a corner office, the library will denigrate its own mission. Such a change will diminish the emphasis on reading in favor of looking, and cursory looking at that. This will amount to tourism of history rather than the real thing. The LC has higher values and should not trade them away for empty space.

Matters of principle aside, fundamental considerations seem to preclude the likelihood of "re-location." Here are some factors for consideration by all parties involved:

* Transparency: When WMATA intends to shut down a bus line, it announces the proposal in advance to riders and calls a public hearing to assess public support before undertaking action. This type of transparent procedure could have helped obviate the present controversy.

* Transition: No one appears to have a transition plan for the ERR. How long would this take? What guarantees would researchers have that it will return? What would happen to the researcher shelves in the meantime?

* Reference Collections: the SE Pavilion could not possibly accommodate the existing reference collections, even if bookshelves lined the walls up to the ceiling. What would happen to the reference collections? Would they all go back to Cataloging to be re-entered in the general system? How long would they be in transit and thus unavailable to researchers? If the Library were concerned about under-use of these materials, it would be extremely counter-productive to render them inaccessible for an unforeseen duration. Low availability of books in circulation has drawn Congressional ire: http://www.loc.gov/blog/?p=207

* Seating: How many seats could actually fit into the SE Pavilion? The diameter of the room is not very wide. Accounting for lost square footage from newly-erected bookshelves and a staff desk, it would seem that only a few seats could be accommodated.

* Acoustics: the SE Pavilion currently is not separated from the ERR by a wall. Were the current ERR space to become a tourist-filled exhibition, the SE Pavilion would need a rather significant floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall sound barrier to create a quiet research environment. Construction of this does not seem feasible.

* Capital Outlay Expenditures: Refurbishing the SE Pavilion will no doubt require the purchase and customization of bookshelves, electrical and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as desks.Are funds allocated for this purpose in FY '08? If not, what process is needed to approve Capital Outlays? Does the Architect of the Capitol need to sign off on all plans? This could be an extremely lengthy process.

In light of these and other factors, "re-location" to the SE Pavilion seems extremely unlikely at all—and certainly unfeasible this year. Unfortunately, the presence of construction workers indicates that the process of "de-location" is already afoot. It looks like the ERR has a one-way ticket to nowhere.

Luckily, we are getting reports that scholarly associations, the media, and local embassies have picked up this story. Let's hope that they can investigate these factors more thoroughly. Cramming the Library's core activities into a corner is not a serious option. The European Reading Room needs to stay where it is. Period.

Notes from the Underground

2008-03-26T15:44:00.001-04:00

Our readers say it best. To join the discussion, click here.

“The LOC is known to be the best library in the world - is an exhibit area really worth loosing that reputation and becoming just another tourist attraction?”

“As a scholar, I find the LOC’s decision a slap in the face of the entire scholarly community. What is the primary mission of the LOC? Not exhibit halls or daily attendance records, but the collection and preservation of precious texts that researchers can access at their will. This is what Thomas Jefferson envisioned.”

“As a Russianist I am always getting notes about the various archives and reading rooms that are closing indefinitely for "remont" over in Russia, thereby rendering their collections off-limits (or extremely hard to access) to researchers. I never thought this would happen in the US. It's appalling.”

It Would Be Amusing, Were It Not So Sad

2008-03-25T08:39:00.005-04:00

The LC administration apparently has proposed an amusing idea: move the European Reading Room into a "corner office": the Southeast Pavilion (behind the current area).

I would highly encourage everyone to go look at this space for yourselves. Good for cocktail parties, no doubt, but where will they put the books that line two floors of the current reading room? How in the world are you going to organize staff desks and reference materials into a circle--and provide electrical service in the middle of a marble floor?

Furthermore, this would destroy the symmetry of the building, whereby the European and Africa-Middle East rooms flank the Great Hall (see here). This is not just aesthetically displeasing, it's a demotion for the entire European region, even though the European Reading Room has the highest usage.

One can assume that the whole purpose of this is to use the current space for exhibitions or private events. Therefore researchers will have to walk through a gaggle of tourists or lobbyists in order to get their reading space. And there's no doubt that the environment will not be conducive for reading. I can just imagine the looks on the faces of our colleagues from the Lenin Library of Bibliotheque Nationale, when they confront this nightmare.

Time to go back to the drawing board. It would be amusing if it were not so sad. Keep getting those messages in to Congress (link here for info). We need to stand up for common sense.

Let Congress Know

2008-03-24T20:08:00.005-04:00

If you want to make a difference by helping to preserve the European Reading Room, let Congress know. Congress has a special joint committee for oversight of the Library of Congress. Here are the members. You can get links to their email addresses by clicking here.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, CA, Chairman
Rep. Robert A. Brady, PA, Vice Chairman
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, CA
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, CT
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, FL
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, NY
Rep. Vernon Ehlers, MI
Sen. Robert F. Bennett, UT
Rep. Dan Lungren, CA
Sen. Ted Stevens, AK

Also make sure to copy the following people:

Dr. James Billington
Librarian of Congress
LM-608
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20540-1000
jbil@loc.gov

and

Dr. Jeremy Adamson (jadamson@loc.gov)
Dr. Deanna Marcum (dmarcum@loc.gov)

What's the Issue?

2008-03-23T19:22:00.004-04:00

By May, the Library of Congress's European Reading Room could be no more. This exquisite facility has been the home for graduate students, foreign visitors, and world-class researchers of all types. It is staffed by some of the best reference professionals and materials available, and is one-of-a-kind worldwide. Losing it would damage not only American students but would be a slap in the face of our European colleagues who come to the U.S. to study -- in recognition of the immense value of the Library of Congress. No other reading room is on the chopping block. Those who value American-European cultural exchange and the Library of Congress's role in it need to make their voices heard NOW. Learn more from the posts below or join us now -- if you do not have a gmail account, write us here and we will add you to our listserv.