Science fiction author Nalo Hopkinson, a professor at UC Riverside, sounds the alarm about a change in management at the Eaton Science Fiction Collection, the largest public science fiction and fantasy in the world.
The new library administration has alienated long-term staff (according to Hopkinson, it shades over into actual abuse), triggering waves of resignations, and is planning to drastically reduce the collection size.
So I'm sad to have to report that new library administration doesn't seem to appreciate the value of the Eaton Collection or the expertise that goes into it. Since spring of this year, their accomplishments have included driving out staff members and pushing changes to collection policies that would reduce the Eaton's holdings, its value to researchers and as a repository of our community's history, and its standing as a world-class archive. Meetings with the staff of the Eaton have been productive, collegial gatherings. Meetings to negotiate with the new library administration, not so much. It's putting the faculty of the research cluster in the alarming position of having to protect the very collection we're charged with fostering. We're dealing with the new library admins' efforts to split up the collection and change priorities for what to collect (eg, e-text over print) without consulting scholars in the field, and with what we'd characterize as harassment of staff, who've demonstrated extreme competence over the years. My research cluster colleague Rob Latham has also posted about this on Facebook. (If you're on FB, you should be able to find it here.) It's time to alert the community to what's been going on, because we may need your help very soon. We're not recommending any action on your part at this point, other than spreading the word. For those who aren't on Facebook, I've replicated Rob's post below:
Concerned about the Eaton SF/F archive at UCR [Nalo Hopkinson]
