McGill University will hold a town hall meeting on libraries this afternoon with students, faculty, and staff to “re-imagine the McGill University Library and Archives.” At issue is the lack of space and how the university can meet the “evolving teaching, learning and research needs of its community” in the digital age.
This past September, McGill University began a feasibility study that will end in spring 2015.
According to the feasibility study project report, McGill’s library is severely overcrowded. Rare, special, manuscript and archives collections that interest many historians and genealogists are scattered through the campus in five libraries in “substandard conditions.”
By virtue of the university’s status and history in Quebec and Canada, the library is “the steward of valuable resources which must be preserved, digitized, catalogued, exhibited, and made accessible.”
Among the objectives outlined in the feasibility study project scope pertaining to the archives collection are:
Facilitate the transition of the McGill University Library and Archives legacy collection to appropriate storage: Currently housed on open stacks, McGill’s print collection is used less and less frequently while occupying prime real-estate in downtown Montreal. Plans need to be developed to relocate the majority of the print collection to appropriate storage while retaining a minimal presence of print books in high demand in the various branches.
Outline how McGill can transform its space and accommodate processes that will best serve library users and satisfy their evolving needs.
Reconsider the current processes to simplify access and lessen time to retrieve the stored physical or partly digitized material and deliver it to users.
Make special consideration for McGill’s rare, special collections, manuscripts and archives. These collections must be housed in environmentally controlled, fitting and distinctive spaces which include exhibition, reading room, digitization and preservation facilities.
The fact that this feasibility study is being conducted suggests McGill is concerned about its archives collection and determined to ensure it is well preserved. Let’s hope that is the case.
The feasibility study project report is available here.
Information about the town hall meeting is available here.
