Letter: "Renewal" of the Mitchell Library

[klward]

Here follows the text of a letter sent this day to the Librarian at the State Library of New South Wales. To prove I am not totally computer illiterate, I have integrated the links to my source material.

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Dear Dr. Byrne,

I write as a long term user of the State Library of New South Wales, and in great concern over the apparent plan to “renew” the Mitchell Library Reading Room by making it “a public space with free WiFi” and “a rooftop restaurant” (State Library Press Release dated 3 December 2013).

Visiting the State Library over the course of January (researching my current novel and an upcoming doctorate proposal) I discovered that books and resources I previously accessed in the Mitchell were no longer available. I marked with perturbation the empty upper shelves, and initially assumed that cleaning was taking place. However, I have now discovered that this is apparently part of the above scheme.

I have always seen the Reference and Mitchell collections as complementary halves. The Mitchell contained Mitchell's original collection of Australiana and important subsequent works in that category, permitting access to such unique resources as the original blueprints to Saint Andrews cathedral. The Reference contained contemporary and international material, or at least did until its “renewal” when three quarters of the books vanished and I found myself having to firstly, order whatever I wished to consult days in advance over the internet, and then, having collected it, hunt for a space to actually sit down and read amongst all the people who appeared to be watching television on their laptops.

In the absence of more information than I found under Our Plans For The Future (State Library website, 3 December 2013), I must assume that this is the vision the administration has for the future of the Mitchell. I would gladly be contradicted, but until this letter is answered or a public meeting held, I can only reiterate what I did in relation to the "renewal" of Fisher Library:

The internet is not a library.

A search engine is not a catalogue. Still less is it a librarian.

A professionally published book is the standard and base unit of all information. If individual people or institutions have somehow lost sight of this, they should not be accommodated, they should be fought.

Yours Sincerely,

Kyla Lee Ward