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<div>-------- Ursprüngliche Nachricht --------</div>
<div>Von: Thomas Corsten <thomas.corsten@univie.ac.at> </div>
<div>Datum: 16.03.18 12:46 (GMT+01:00) </div>
<div>An: Niedermaier Werner <werner.niedermaier@univie.ac.at> </div>
<div>Betreff: Petition </div>
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<font size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt;">
<div class="PlainText">Lieber Herr Niedermaier,<br>
<br>
Vielen Dank für die schnelle Erledigung! Leider ist bei meiner <br>
Weiterleitung der ursprünglichen Nachricht offenbar ein Fehler passiert, <br>
indem der wichtigste Teil, nämlich der Bericht aus Texas mit dem link <br>
zur Petition, abgeschnitten worden ist ... Könnten Sie diesen (hier in <br>
der mail) über den Verteiler schnell hinterherschicken?<br>
<br>
Vielen Dank und herzliche Grüße,<br>
Thomas Corsten<br>
<br>
<br>
* * * * * * *<br>
<br>
<br>
Forwarding on behalf of Prof. Rabun Taylor (Department of Classics, <br>
University of Texas at Austin, rmtaylor@austin.utexas.edu):<br>
<br>
<br>
Dear colleagues,<br>
<br>
Please forgive this blanket email, but I feel it is justified in light <br>
of the extraordinary circumstances.<br>
<br>
To my knowledge, the decision to remove an entire physical library from <br>
the campus of a Research 1 institution without any consultation of <br>
faculty or students is utterly unprecedented in recent American history. <br>
Yet this is exactly what has happened at the University of Texas at <br>
Austin. The stacks from the third and fourth floors of the Fine Arts <br>
Library are gone. The additional decision by the Dean of Fine Arts to <br>
remove the remaining fifth floor of stacks (an additional 85,000 <br>
volumes, and close to 200,000 items total) is being vigorously <br>
challenged, but already the 75,000 print volumes and roughly 100,000 <br>
disks from the other floors have been permanently removed into storage <br>
facilities. Tens of thousands (including all but five journals, the <br>
majority of them undigitized) appear to have been conveyed to the Joint <br>
Library Facility (JLF) in College Station, about 100 miles east of <br>
Austin. The ownership status of these items is unclear; the facility <br>
website indicates that the JLF’s holdings become jointly owned by Texas <br>
A&M University, and that spare copies are “deduplicated.” Vice Provost <br>
and Director of Libraries Lorraine Haricombe disputes any claims that <br>
the books and journals have gone into joint ownership, and she asserts <br>
that no items from UT-Austin are being destroyed. However, further <br>
investigation has shown that they go to UT Surplus, which distributes <br>
them to charity or to Better World Books, where they are put up for <br>
sale.<br>
<br>
The Fine Arts Library affair is exploding like a bomb among the faculty <br>
and students of College of Fine Arts, who have nevertheless been working <br>
diligently for almost a year to mitigate the damage. The affair was <br>
roundly condemned at the College Art Association meeting earlier this <br>
month in Los Angeles and several articles about it have been published <br>
in the local, national, and international press. In two days, a public <br>
petition has garnered over 1,500 signatures.<br>
<br>
There is good reason to believe that the Fine Arts Library crisis, <br>
though it was precipitated by a particular set of circumstances in the <br>
College of Fine Arts—the rapid inauguration of a new school of “design <br>
and creative technologies” into the college without an adequate capital <br>
campaign to support new space—actually reflects a much deeper and <br>
broader culture of colonization and disruption within UT Libraries and <br>
central administration. It seems likely that both entities <br>
countenanced, or even encouraged, this action. But this is part of a <br>
bigger story. Yesterday, word arrived that the University of Wisconsin <br>
at Madison is also planning to eliminate its renowned fine arts library. <br>
The message conveyed by these actions is already well understood by <br>
anyone whose academic discipline resides in the arts and humanities. We <br>
all have targets on our backs, and we find ourselves fighting rearguard <br>
battles to preserve the physical tools of our trade, first and foremost <br>
books. But with foresight and solidarity, we can resist this global <br>
trend of bibliophobia and even reverse it. Only a couple of hundred <br>
miles to our north, the University of Texas at Dallas is inaugurating a <br>
new Athenaeum with expanded library space and a physical collection <br>
augmented by an important private library.<br>
<br>
I would encourage you to get informed about our situation at UT-Austin <br>
and spread the word widely among your colleagues and students. The <br>
website includes much more information.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://saveutlibraries.com">https://saveutlibraries.com</a><br>
<br>
Also, there is a movement afoot called Save UT Libraries and a petition. <br>
Please sign the petition and, if you’re so inclined, leave a comment. <br>
Our resistance movement has many tools at its disposal, but one of the <br>
most powerful is the testimony of our colleagues around the world.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.change.org/p/douglas-dempster-save-the-university-of-texas-austin-fine-arts-library?recruiter=110123770&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page">https://www.change.org/p/douglas-dempster-save-the-university-of-texas-austin-fine-arts-library?recruiter=110123770&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page</a><br>
<br>
<br>
Please share this message widely. Thanks for your time and <br>
consideration.<br>
<br>
Rabun Taylor<br>
Professor, Department of Classics<br>
University of Texas at Austin<br>
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