22 Jun 2018

Music library books could be “pulped”

From Upbeat, 12:29 pm on 22 June 2018

Books and resources from the disestablished Creative Libraries at the University of Auckland could be pulped not burned in a shakeup announced yesterday.

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Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon cited financial reasons for the closure of three creative libraries including The Music and Dance Library Te Herenga Pūoru.

Read: Library closure worries international music association

The collections at the libraries will be culled, with the remaining books and resources relocated to the university’s general library.

The University says they will not burn books, as was suggested when the engineering library was closed down in April.

READ: Staff “devastated” by creative libraries closure

“As part of standard practice, books in our libraries may be removed and destroyed (usually pulped) if they are damaged, overly duplicated, or are significantly out of date (such as technical textbooks),” says University Media Manager Lisa Finucane. “This is what all libraries do.

READ: students rally against Uni library closures

“It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest the university would burn books. Burning books represents censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question – this is not what any University is about and certainly not this one.”