Some faculty and students are fighting back against the UI’s plans to merge four branch libraries.
Citing the importance of a specialized library, many said they are worried about the effect closing the facilities will have on recruiting and ranking.
“We’ve already had several students come in, and they were utterly dismayed by the fact that the library is closing,” said Professor Dan Anderson, an associate chairman and director of graduate studies in the mathematics department. “The moment our ranking goes down, it affects our recruiting of faculty, of graduate students. It affects the funding we get.”
But UI library officials say closing the facilities won’t affect rankings as professors believe, and the university’s deep budget cuts leave them with no other option.
Over winter break, the math and psychology libraries will move, followed by the physics and geoscience libraries in May 2010. The merging with larger libraries on campus are part of efforts to cut $1 million from the library budget.
When the math faculty learned of the proposal to close the libraries, some filed a petition with the UI Provost’s Office.
Thirty faculty members in the department have signed on so far, in which they compared the necessity of a research library in the math and physics departments with the necessity of a laboratory in other fields.
“This will totally handicap the way we do our research, said Richard Baker, UI associate professor in mathematics. “It is not just a matter of convenience or having to walk down the hill.”
However, officials denied the petition, saying the budget made it necessary to follow through with their plans.
“Having heard their arguments and weighing those against all the needs of the library system, [Provost Wallace Loh] found the library’s plans more compelling,” UI Associate Provost Barbara Eckstein wrote in an e-mail.
Despite Loh’s decision, petitioners continue to attract attention to the cause.
Members of the math and physics departments voiced concern over the availability of the materials they need to conduct research.
The Physics Library will be moved to the Biology Library — a feat UI Professor Palle Jorgensen said will be physically impossible.
The space allotted for the physics section is half the size of the current library area, he said.
Library officials recognized these concerns, noting while some materials will be moved to storage, they are trying to identify frequently used items to make sure they will be readily available.
“Obviously, browsing the stacks is an important process of discovery,” said Kristi Robinson-Bontrager, the public-relations coordinator for the UI Libraries. “But it is not like we are going to throw the books away. The things that are going to go off-site are largely journals that are available online or duplicate books.”
Faculty and graduate students will be able to place an order for materials to be delivered directly to their office, she said.
“Obviously, if they want the book the moment they see it in InfoHawk, that’s not going to happen,” she said, and the book should arrive in a day or two.
Ultimately, officials said the decision came down to money.
“We’re glad they love their libraries so much that they are upset about them moving,” Robinson-Bontrager said. “It is just that we do not have the money.”