MOST UNDERGRAD RESIDENCE HALL LIBRARIANS FIRED; RESIDENCE HALL LIBRARIES REORGANIZED
All University of Michigan Residence Hall Libraries with the exception of Bursley and East Quad have been closed for the upcoming academic year, apparently as a cost-saving measure. The old libraries will be replaced with “a new service model based on partnerships with the University Library,” according to Director of Residence Hall Libraries David Pimentel in an email to former undergraduate employees of the residence hall libraries. Pimentel wrote:
“We anticipate phasing in the new program immediately. The first phase will include a change in the number of residence hall library sites: in fall 2003, East Quadrangle and Bursley Hall are targeted for traditional RHL operations.”
It’s unclear how the reorganization will impact the Residence Hall Head Librarians, graduate students in the U-M School of Information who recently petitioned to join the Graduate Employees Organization. The closing comes after another low-budget campus institution, the U-M Student Woodshop, was abruptly told they would lose all funding earlier this summer. Woodshop supporters are trying to raise enough money to keep the shop open this year while a long-term solution is found.