Libraries likely to close at uSask
4 university libraries are likely to close in the coming years as part of the University of Saskatchewan’s TransformUS program, reports the StarPhoenix. Libraries in the education, law, and engineering colleges and in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine are slated to be closed, with print collections moving to remote storage or being consolidated in remaining libraries. The vacated spaces could be used as extra group-study spaces, which would please some students, including those in engineering. Other students, including some in the law and education departments, expressed surprise and concern about the closures. But Ken Ladd, acting Dean in the University Library, explained in a uSask blog post that the proposed changes are part of a larger “transformation that has involved a shift from providing space for books to providing space for students.” Other TransformUS plans unveiled include the merging of several programs in the College of Arts and Science. Dean Peter Stoicheff called the merging of programs a “building project, not a diminishing project.” uSask Blog | StarPhoenix (1) | StarPhoenix (2)
Postscript: May 16, 2014
Officials at the University of Saskatchewan are clarifying that the law library will not be closed as part of the TransformUS plan, but will be “reconfigured.” It is not yet clear exactly what the reconfiguration will entail, but as the uSask law library is one of the few in the country that houses its entire collection on-site, there is a possibility that some of the collection may eventually be housed off-site, with easy access for students and faculty. uSask will also look at options for decreasing operating costs, while ensuring that criteria for accreditation remains in place. “The goal is to address the university's fiscal concerns while ensuring that the law library, in conjunction with the rest of the university library, continues to support the law school's mission of pedagogy and scholarship as well as its sense of community,” writes Sanjeev Anand, uSask Dean of Law. StarPhoenix
