Update 14 July 2023, 3PM CEST
Thank you for the overwhelming response. There were 1000 signatures within 24 hours and as of now over 2700, ranging from official voices to anonymous expressions. It is not only the mass but especially the diversity of support that should make us all confident that the course has been changed. The university has already released an official press statement that commits to strengthening the research library. We are confident that this is a robust basis for the further internal process. In the meantime, we take your support as an inspiration to think about further measures for fostering the public dialogue on the societal value of research libraries and an equitable and open world of information.
Prof. Dr. Andrea Rapp, Technische Universität Darmstadt
Frank Scholze, Generaldirektor der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
Saving Göttingen State and University Library as an interface between research and infrastructure
Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen) is one of the most prominent and powerful academic libraries in Germany with a wide range of offers and services far beyond Göttingen. It is valued worldwide for its appeal as a location for unique holdings and as a node for innovative developments in research and information infrastructures within an international network and ecosystem.
We need and support the SUB Göttingen as an established and excellent partner, whose supra-regionally significant role should not be limited by a local process of administrative optimization. After all, a modern, high-performance information infrastructure can only function through an international network of cooperating institutions.
Blog post by Jan-Martin Wiarda on the topic:
https://www.jmwiarda.de/2023/07/05/keine-ruhe-in-göttingen/
Background:
At the University of Göttingen, under the name Pro.Admin a change management process for the central administration and the central institutions to which the SUB belongs is currently being carried out. In this context, recommendations from a company advising the process became known, which, among other measures, provide for the reduction of the SUB to basic tasks of literature supply. The SUB Göttingen is committed to the dissemination and preservation of knowledge and information, standardization in the infrastructure sector in many areas and actively contributes to the digitization of research in Germany and beyond. Implementing the restructuring proposed by the management consultancy would deprive the SUB of significant capacity for innovation and would represent a reversal of its development as a modern research infrastructure in a digitally networked scientific landscape.
SUB Göttingen is an infrastructure institution with a long tradition and a clear mission to help shaping the information landscape and the concept of a modern library for the future. It is a memory institution and service provider for a wide range of information services. It is a renowned pioneer and partner for a future-proof research and information infrastructure, including the implementation of Open Science Policies in Germany and world-wide. This high-profiled interface between research and infrastructure must be maintained.
Ladies and Gentlemen, dear Colleagues and Partners,
as the initiators of the open letter in support of the Lower Saxony State and University Library Göttingen, we address you: We all value the SUB as a reliable and innovative infrastructure partner. We would be very pleased if you would support our request with your signature.
Prof. Dr. Andrea Rapp, Technical University of Darmstadt
Frank Scholze, Director General of the German National Library