Petition Opposes Plan To Close LIS Library at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Andrew Albanese -- Library Journal, 12/10/2008

• University cites low usage of physical library
• Petition says library remains valuable resource
• Report recommends relocation to main library

(This article first appeared in the December 9, 2008 issue of the LJ Academic Newswire.)

In a November report, officials at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recommended closing the school’s physical LIS library, citing low usage, a shift to electronic resources, and the “high degree of interdisciplinarity” of library & information studies. That recommendation, however, is meeting some stiff resistance this week, as Caroline M. Nappo, a doctoral student and Information in Society Fellow at University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, one of the top ranked LIS schools in the nation, circulated a petition to save the space.

“The physical LIS library, with its specialized circulating collection, reference materials, and extensive run of LIS journals, is a valuable resource for GSLIS students and faculty,” the petition reads. “Considering the University of Illinois boasts one of largest and most prestigious libraries in the country, we urge the University to explore other options besides closure of the LIS library.” The petition has garnered more than 150 signatures so far. 

Nappo acknowledges that "saving" the library will be a tall order. Nevertheless, she sees the petition as a necessary, postive exercise. "In creating the petition, I wanted to make it plain that people value having the physical library, and not all of us are thrilled about the new service models," she told the LJ Academic Newswire.  

Low usage
According to the Interim Report of the Communications/Library & Information Science Services Team, however, there simply isn’t enough usage of the physical LIS library to justify its continued operation. “Ever since the Social Sciences Division began keeping head count statistics in 2005, visitation levels to the LIS Library have remained flat at a relatively low level,” the report states. “The hourly head counts totaled 4,566 people in 2005/06; 3,845 in 2006/07; and 4,498 in 2007/08. For the most recent year (2007/08) this translates to an average of 1.58 people per hour.”

LIS library users are primarily GSLIS students and faculty and the librarians and staff of the university library: that includes 27 permanent GSLIS faculty, 531 students earning the MS or CAS degree, and 42 doctoral students. In addition, the library’s 101 faculty, 45 academic professionals, and 195 civil service staff also use the LIS library to support the “professional practice and their research.”

The report recommends that the “LIS library close, relocate the bulk of the core LIS collection to the Main Stacks, dispersing relevant segments of the collections to libraries with which LIS shares affinities, and housing items that are seldom used or those with good digital surrogates in the Oak Street Repository.” In its report, the team proposes to keep the LIS librarian and staff member, and maintain the LIS collection budget, and also work “to develop an even more robust Virtual LIS portal, engage in instruction and reference, and collaborate with GSLIS and University Library personnel.”

Nappo’s petition is quick to acknowledge that the university’s plan to close the physical LIS library space does not mean the “cessation of LIS library services altogether.” Nevertheless, it seeks to rally support for the space itself. "For those of us who physically visit the library, who browse the collection, who delight in the serendipitous discovery of items that results from co-browsing, the physical space and collocation of materials is invaluable," she explained. "It seems that if a library isn't used enough, then we need strategies to increase usage. I fear that breaking up the collection will actually inhibit access to LIS materials."

Next steps 
The report, meanwhile, also acknowledges the importance of the physical library. “Users especially value the coherence, depth, and browsability of the print collection, easy access to current and bound journals, and various specialized sub-collections” it reads. “The physical library has strong symbolic and affective meaning. To many it represents the strength and quality of GSLIS and the coherence of LIS as a discipline, and its existence fosters a sense of community among students and scholars.” Nevertheless, given budget strain, that acknolwedgement may not be enough to keep the library open.

The team is now charged to “plan the specific steps needed to implement the proposed service profile(s), provide a timeline for implementing these steps, define staffing needs and responsibilities and develop a plan for assessing the effectiveness of the new service profile(s)” by December 15. 

"Let me be clear, I don't think anyone in the University Library wants to close libraries," Nappo told the Newswire. "The closing of the LIS library is a casualty of the general lack of support for public institutions."

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