Students gather outside the ANU Art and Music Library to protest against its closure. Photo: Students from ANU School of Art and Design.
An open letter from ANU art students and alumni protesting the closure of the Art and Music Library has gathered more than 700 signatures since the university quietly announced the move online last week.
The letter says the decision came without staff or students being consulted and will mean the collection, most of which will go to the Chifley Library, would not be as easy to access.
“The Art and Music Library collection is a significant and valuable resource for students, staff and alumni of the School of Art and Design and School of Music, as well as the broader University and Canberra artistic communities,” the letter says.
“Removing the collection from its current site within the School of Art will significantly impede students’ ability to access and make use of research and study materials, particularly rare books and monographs that are both unavailable online, and impractical to take home.”
The students note that a lot of work is also done in the library itself, so borrowing statistics do not truly reflect its use.
“Easy access to this specialised and localised collection is crucial for students to develop critical, research-driven studio practices, shaping their future artistic careers and contributions to our community,” it says.
The letter says that converting a beloved institution and hub of academic and intellectual activity into a generic study space is an insult to generations of students.
“This is a misdirected decision that will hinder, not improve, access and use of library resources, and diminish the intellectual and cultural vibrancy of the ANU and the Canberra arts community,” it continues.
Visual Arts student at the School of Art and Design Sian Hardy said students were devastated by yet another move by the university to undermine its creative community.
Ms Hardy said the move would significantly impede access and use of these materials, many of which were rare and unavailable online.
“Removing the library from the site of the School of Art and dispersing it into a much larger collection of materials makes it much harder for students to access the collection as part of their day-to-day studio practice, and stops us from being able to discover new books simply by browsing the shelves,” she said.
It would also make it harder for students with disability who were concerned about being able to access the collection within a much larger, busier building located significantly further away from their everyday studio and study spaces.
Comments attached to the open letter include one from a student now contemplating leaving the ANU because of the decision.
Another lamented the ANU’s treatment of the arts over the years: “Since I started my degree at the School of Music ANU has actively targeted the School of Music and School of Art in funding cuts, staff cuts etc, this is just another decision in a long pattern of disrespect and disregard for the arts community, students and staff who are pursuing these degrees at ANU.”
One student said it was important for there to be a communal study space tailored for visual arts students.
The library will close on Friday (8 December).
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