Budget Plan in California Could Force Closure of Famed Oceanographic Library, Others at UC-San Diego
By Michael Kelley Feb 23, 2011If the $500 million cut that California governor Jerry Brown has proposed to the University of California's budget for FY11/12 were to pass the state legislature, it would likely claim among its many victims a library pearl, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Library at UC-San Diego.
In a February 11 letter, Brian E.C. Schottlaender, the Audrey Geisel University Librarian, said UC-San Diego libraries would have to reduce the number of buildings it supports and staffs from six to two if the system has to absorb a $3 million cut for FY11/12.
"We were told to prepare to absorb ten percent of the campus's total cut of $60 million, yet the libraries' budget is nowhere near ten percent of the campus's budget," Schottlaender told LJ. "So, I do feel that the initially proposed cut of $6 million is disproportionate to the size of the libraries' budget. [So] we are planning for a $3 million cut. A $6 million cut would be devastating to UCSD's library system and our ability to meet the needs of faculty and students."
The libraries' budget has already been reduced 16 percent since FY09, and 38 positions have been eliminated, Schottlaender said.
Even a $3 million cut in FY12 would involve some harsh measures. Schottlaender outlined a plan that would eliminate 15 percent of the staff (40 FTEs) and close the Scripps Library, the Medical Center Library, and the Science & Engineering Library, consolidating select material from these three collections with the Biomedical Library, creating a single Science Library. It also would fold the International Relations/Pacific Studies Library into the Geisel Library, under a single Social Sciences & Humanities library. And it would close the Center for Library & Instructional Computing Services.
Scripps closure a travesty
The prospect of closing the Scripps library, however, has aroused a particularly sharp outcry. Scripps is over 100 years old, and it is the largest oceanography library in the world (based on collection size, journals available, budget). It has unique collections that serve scholars throughout the world and have helped define the science of oceanography. Schottlaender described the primary source materials assembled in the Scripps Archives as "without peer."
The library has two parts: the library collection and related services and a rich historical archives and digitization program. Approximately 100,000 of Scripps's 227,000 volumes have been digitized and are now accessible as part of a partnership between Google, the University of California, and the UC-San Diego Libraries, according to the library's website. But the proposed closure could seriously impede access to materials not online, such as historic maps and charts, a concern expressed on the blog Deep-Sea News.
Peter Brueggeman, the library's director since 1993, shares the concern about access.
"Our users both on and off campus have told us over and over again that they value timely access to our collection to support their research," he told LJ. "User access to the collection from a consolidated sciences library, or through delivery requests from an off-campus storage facility would clearly impede timely access."
Students fight back
A group of SIO doctoral students have formed a group called Save the SIO Library, and they have drafted a petition that has already amassed 400 signatures in opposition to the proposed closure.
"The response was staggering. We received signatures not only from our SIO colleagues, but from SIO alumni, members of the UCSD community, and scientists from organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute," the group said in a statement emailed to LJ.
"To lose our institution's library is to lose all sense of reasonable prioritization," the statement reads. "SIO is a bastion for top-notch environmental research and is an instrumental contributor to the global research community. The role of the SIO library in these contributions cannot be overstated."
At a meeting Tuesday of the SIO Library Committee, which comprises staff, faculty, and students, there was a unanimous agreement "that this proposed closure must be prevented," according to participants. The committee discussed options for raising funds for the library and saving on its operating costs.
Brueggeman said that the possible closure is not a surprise since consolidation is a trend among academic libraries, pointing to the University of Washington's merger of its Fisheries-Oceanography Library into its other libraries. But the integrity of the collection is on his mind.
"The archives and digital library side of Scripps Library is a key concern for me ...and it's unclear at this point how these resources will be affected by a closure. Still, to be forced to close a library like Scripps due to relentless budget cuts is unfortunate and will impact researchers on campus and beyond," he said.
