10 January 2019
Click here to read the letter in PDF format
Dear Director Amos,
We write as concerned colleagues from the Executive Board of the Middle East Librarians Association (MELA),distressed over the severe cuts faced by SOAS Library.
As one of the most important libraries supporting the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, SOAS Library represents a vital resource worthy of sustained investment. The library is not only a repository of world-class collections but of invaluable expertise embodied in the skilled specialists who ensure the curation, acquisition, preservation, accessibility and meaningful use of research materials by students and established scholars at SOAS and beyond.
We understand that these proposed cuts would decimate the dedicated subject librarian support which SOAS Library offers, not to mention other crucial library staff positions in Archives & Special Collections, e-resources, distance learning and transnational education at a time when support in all these areas actually needs to be expanded, not diminished.
We write to express our solidarity and support with our professional counterparts at SOAS, and hope that the SOAS Executive Board will reconsider these cuts – in particular what we understand to be the decision to cut a significant percentage of staff as a cost-saving measure.
Again, human resources are a crucial capital investment in a specialized library like SOAS, and without the necessary staffing, coverage of key subject areas will be greatly reduced if not lost, leaving remaining specialists overburdened. Ultimately those who will bear this loss are the students and researchers who should benefit the most from the library, and indeed those whose learning and scholarly engagement it is the library’s mission to support.
We urge you and other members of upper management to reconsider this decision to cut staff and instead engage in productive dialogue to find solutions to retain your most valuable assets.
With sincere regards,
Dr. Dale J Correa, President
On behalf of the Executive Board, Middle East Librarians Association