UvA students launch petition to save the P.C. Hoofthuis Library

Serendipitous discoveries
History student Max Hell (22), member of action group De Reaksie, says that the action group initially began the petition out of appreciation for the library’s open layout. “There are bookshelves arranged thematically, so you can conduct research in the same place where you study.’’

For Trude Dijkstra, lecturer in book science, the distinctive open layout of the library is equally important – and the main reason she signed the petition. “When you take a book from the shelf, you automatically also look at what is to its left and right.’’ That sometimes leads to serendipitous discoveries, which according to Dijkstra are crucial for scholarly research and the academic culture.

Specialist support is also lost if the library disappears, says Dijkstra. “Front desk staff, library assistants and librarians are indispensable in guiding students and researchers: they know the collections, think along or provide help with hard-to-find sources.’’

Uncertainty
Both Max and Dijkstra point out that much remains unclear. Max, for example, doubts whether there will be enough study spaces in the new UB – there are no figures on this. It is also unknown how, and whether, the physical collections of the P.C. Hoofthuis and the Singel will be housed in the new library at all.

Max: “The faculty newsletter stated that the old locations would disappear, but only in the context of the opening of the new library. The closures were slipped in en passant, without any further explanation,’’ says Max. “The petition is therefore also a way to ensure this doesn’t go unnoticed.’’

Thousand signatures

Max is not sure whether the petition can prevent the Spuistraat library from remaining open. In any case, he hopes it can stop the building being sold: “There are rumours circulating about that.’’

Public event

Dijkstra also suspects that P.C. Hoofthuis will eventually disappear as a university building, but argues that the library should be retained until that happens. She furthermore insists that the physical collections remain. “Functions that disappear almost never return. If no one knows it exists, there is no longer any demand for it.’’

To dispel the uncertainties surrounding the old and new locations, De Reaksie demands via the petition a public event with the Executive Board, in which a detailed explanation of the exact plans is given. Once the petition reaches a thousand signatures, the action group will approach the university board. “That won’t take long,’’ says Max, “the tally now stands at 650.’’

Sign the petition? Click here.

4:45 p.m. The UvA has issued the following addition to the above article:

“The new University Library has been designed based on the wishes and needs of students. One of those wishes was to be able to study among the books. The new University Library will therefore contain more than five kilometres of books in open display. They will be arranged thematically in the study rooms with mezzanine floors and bookcases along the walls from floor to ceiling. Bookcases will also be installed in other study rooms. So studying among books in open display will remain possible in the new University Library.”

“The library staff at the P.C. Hoofthuis Library and the Singel University Library will soon be working in the new University Library and will be on hand to assist students and researchers in their education and research. Upon entering, there will also be an interactive map where you can easily see which collection can be found in which room. The new University Library will have more than 1,000 study places, roughly the same number as are currently available.”