[INDOLOGY] Fwd: Petition: Save the South/Southeast Asia Library at UC Berkeley

[Dominik Wujastyk]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jonathan Rodgers <jrodgers at umich.edu>
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2021 at 06:51
Subject: Petition: Save the South/Southeast Asia Library at UC Berkeley
To: <AmericanOrientalSociety at umich.edu>


Save the South/Southeast Asia Library at UC Berkeley
<https://www.change.org/p/uc-berkeley-library-save-the-south-southeast-asia-library-at-uc-berkeley?recruiter=547919927&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=ea89bc50-23a5-11e6-9f0b-57db3a989ab4>





SIGN THE PETITION HERE
<https://www.change.org/p/uc-berkeley-library-save-the-south-southeast-asia-library-at-uc-berkeley?recruiter=547919927&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=ea89bc50-23a5-11e6-9f0b-57db3a989ab4>



By signing this petition
<https://www.change.org/p/uc-berkeley-library-save-the-south-southeast-asia-library-at-uc-berkeley?recruiter=547919927&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=ea89bc50-23a5-11e6-9f0b-57db3a989ab4>
 you *reject* the proposed closure of the South/Southeast Asia Library at
120 Doe Library,* and support* its current location and mission.

After 50 years in operation, the South/Southeast Asia Library (S/SEAL)
located at 120 Doe Library on campus is at risk of closure to accommodate
office cubicles. Read the proposal: here
<https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/call_for_public_comment_for_south_southeast_asia_library.pdf>
.

Opened in 1970, the S/SEAL
<https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/libraries/ssea-library> has served as a
window to the world of South and Southeast Asian cultures to promote cross
cultural understanding in the humanities and social sciences. In addition
to its foundational role supporting scholarship of the area, the S/SEAL
serves the community through academic & professional presentations, curated
exhibitions of the collection, library and course orientations, and
fundraising and book launching events to strengthen and promote the
South/Southeast Asian community on the local, national and international
levels. But the primary day-to-day function of the S/SEAL is a *physical
space* for interaction with, and enrichment of, the student body.

Representing 19 countries with material sourced over decades in 30 plus
languages, the S/SEAL serves as the heart of interdisciplinary scholarship
on campus for some of the world’s oldest, most diverse civilizations
comprising 30% of the world’s population. Located at 120 Doe Library, the
S/SEAL provides a physical space for students to interact with the heritage
of the region and feel at home. For members of our student body who
identify as South and/or Southeast Asian, this is the *only* space on
campus dedicated to the celebration and preservation of both regions'
cultural production. The space has a humble seating capacity of 30+, is
calm and conducive to engagement with the resources, and is curated by the
two South Asia and Southeast Asia librarians. If the space for the S/SEAL
is taken for office cubicles, we lose our *only* place to experience the
region as well as the heart of our collegiality.

The physical setting of the South/Southeast Asia Library is the* only* library
of its kind in the United States and in the world! It primarily nourishes
the scholars of the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
<https://sseas.berkeley.edu/> at UC Berkeley (the *only* one of its kind in
the United States). The S/SEAL also supports the goals of the Institute for
South Asia Studies <https://southasia.berkeley.edu/> and the Center for
Southeast Asia Studies <https://ieas.berkeley.edu/centers/cseas>, who
receive Title VI federal funding to support the hosting and training of
regional scholars. The South/Southeast Asia library is wholly unique in its
mission and most importantly *physical space*.

This attempted erasure of the library's history and heritage is an assault
not only on our academic institutions & centers but also members of our
student body who call this place “home.”

By signing this petition
<https://www.change.org/p/uc-berkeley-library-save-the-south-southeast-asia-library-at-uc-berkeley?recruiter=547919927&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=ea89bc50-23a5-11e6-9f0b-57db3a989ab4>
 you *reject* the proposed closure of the South/Southeast Asia Library at
120 Doe Library,* and support* its current location and mission.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.indology.info/pipermail/indology/attachments/20210316/ce1c25fb/attachment.htm>