This has appeared already on PERFORM and FICINO, but I think it is worth continuing to distribute it. Projects like REED could not exist without the good offices of institutions like the British Library and without ready access for our editors and researchers to the collections. Anything that impedes access potentially threatens our research. Abigail ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 18:42:00 CST From: William Proctor Williams <[log in to unmask]> To: Multiple recipients of list PERFORM <[log in to unmask]> Subject: BRITISH LIBRARY I am posting the following message from the British Library Regular Readers' Group (RRG) to several lists since the information it contains may be of general interest (apologies for the duplication in advance); mentions of the library's problems have been turning up in various academic/scholarly newsletters and journals such as the +East-Central Intelligencer+ and the newsletter of the Johnson Society of the Central Region. For those who have not been following the saga but are interested, this is a brief (and obviously over-simplified) outline: the grand original 1978 plan has been so cut that despite the unfortunate, disaster-prone new library's cost (450 million pounds so far), its storage will be full when it opens, whenever that may be, and there will be only 73 more seats for readers--a high price to pay for the loss of the Round Reading Room and the King's Library. What follows is a digest of the material contained in the October 1994 +Newsletter+ of the RRG. ---------------------------------------------------- The British Library's new St. Pancras building is perhaps even further from completion: various essential elements of the building are either defective, already out of date, or subject to disputes between the contractors and the Department of National Heritage. There remains NO PROJECTED OPENING DATE. The RRG has published a revised edition of its report: +The Great British Library Disaster+ (copies can be obtained either by sending 5.00 pounds to the RRG or by sending $5.00 to me for a photocopy of the report--addresses at the end of this posting). On 30 June the Commons Select Committee for National Heritage held a hearing and called witnesses (among these were the RRG, Brian Lang and Sir Anthony Kenny of the British Library, and Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for National Heritage). In the end the Select Committee called for: the retention of the Round Reading Room as an integral part of the British Library "in perpetuity"; an inquiry, chaired by an Ombudsman, to investigate what has gone wrong at St. Pancras; the retention of the rest of the St. Pancras site for use by the British Library in the future. The RRG has been consulted by the National Audit Office about the framework for their own enquiries. The RRG has also attempted to meet with the new Secretary of State for National Heritage, Stephen Dorrell, but has been turned down. The RRG has had talks with Labour MP Mo Mowlam (Shadow spokesman on National Heritage) and Robert McClennan (President of the Liberal Democrats). The month of November will be crucial. Gerald Kaufman, MP (Chairman of the Select Committee) has made it clear he plans to pursue the matters; the government, through the Department of Heritage, must make a response to the Select Committee's recommendations by the end of the month. The RRG urges that you write to Stephen Dorrell as soon as possible, no matter where you live (The Rt. Hon. Stephen Dorrell, Secretary of State for National Heritage, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH). If you live in the UK, the RRG urges you also to write to your MP. Finally, the RRG is very short of funds and all donations will be gratefully received. Cheques drawn on sterling accounts or other foreign accounts should be made payable to The Regular Readers' Group and sent to the London address. Checks drawn on US dollar accounts should be made payable to W. P. Williams, with the Memo line indicating RRG, and sent to the DeKalb, IL address. --------------------------------------------------- That is the end of the digest. If you have further questions or want further information, please do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail, snail mail, or telephone. In London RRG officers are: Etrenne Lymbery, Chairman, and Brian Lake, Secretary. 46 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3PA; Telephone 071 631 4220; Fax 071 436 6544. In North America: William Proctor Williams, President for North America. Department of English, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115; Telephone (815)753-6608; Fax (815)753-0606; e- mail [log in to unmask] Thanks for your patience with this long posting and WRITE STEPHEN DORRELL SOON!