Canadian Government Closes a Federal Science Library in Alberta

Two reports.
1. Research library’s closure shows Harper government targets science ‘at every turn,’ union says (via CBC)

The union [Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)] representing federal scientists says the agriculture research library in the southern Alberta city of Lethbridge has been quietly closed.
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The union said a total of 16 federal science libraries have been lost since 2012 – all due to cuts, closures and consolidations.
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“While some items appear to have been shipped to government facilities in Ottawa, on Monday most of the library’s contents had been either discarded in a dumpster outside the building or sent to recycling,” said PIPSC in its statement.

2. Scientist group denounces closure of Lethbridge Research Centre library (via Global News)

While critics say most of the documents were either thrown in the dumpster, or recycled. Senior Media Relations Officer with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Patrick Girard, offered this explanation.
“The Government of Canada is modernizing the delivery of library services by moving towards a digital service delivery model, while keeping all materials of business value to all employees, including our scientists. This will allow for easier and cost efficient search and access to library resources by employees, no matter their location,” said Girard in a statement.

The complete statement by the union is accessible here.

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Libraries, News, Reports