We are meeting with architects from Group 70 next week to discuss plans for reconstructing the basement. Our desire is to have a contiguous space for Government Documents & Maps so that we can have a shared reference desk and shared workroom.

 

Many people have expressed dismay that we are going back into the basement. My response is, "Where else would we go?" There is no funding to completely renovate the library so that collections may be kept out of the basement, nor is there room for our department in any other building on campus.

I wonder if the University Administration has any idea how demoralizing it is for us to hear that the Archives Reading Room, which is less than five years old, is going to be renovated as a memorial to a couple who donated funds to the University. Meanwhile, we have been denied additional personnel to help with the enormous task of replacing library materials lost in the flood. I guess that Big Money with a Name rates higher than having library materials that researchers need.