Volume 14, Number 4
Jul 1990

Columbia Library School Will Close

On June 4, the Trustees of Columbia University voted to phase out its School of Library Service in two years. It is possible that the school, the Rare Book School, and the Conservation Education Programs, will all find separate new niches. Other universities have already expressed their interest in the Conservation Education Programs (CEP).

The last class of conservator students has been accepted for the fall, but there is still room in the Preservation Administration Masters program for the fall (also the last class). Advanced certificate PA students may start in 1990 or 1991, and those working on master's and doctoral degrees may complete them as planned.

Nicholas Pickwoad will teach the lab courses next year, and Margaret Hey will teach the conservation science courses. Carolyn Harris, who is currently managing the program, says they expect to move the program to another venue before Fall of 1992. If a library school is interested, they should contact Dean Robert Wedgeworth, Columbia University, School of Library Service, 516 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027. Since negotiations will be very complex, they should start in the fall.

There was a short article by Wolfgang Saxon in the June 6 New York Times, and a long one, plus an editorial, in the July Library Times International. They emphasize that the quality of instruction and the reputation of the school are both high, and that the University Senate, the Review Committee appointed by Provost Jonathan Cole, and alumni all opposed the closing. The school plans a formal protest and a separate review by a special commission.