tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post865532071909919692..comments2024-03-09T03:20:20.004-05:00Comments on Tenured Radical: The Wacky World of HistoryTenured Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-8415670540892743282010-12-03T22:49:18.138-05:002010-12-03T22:49:18.138-05:00Exquisitely mirrored affected Cartier watch atten...Exquisitely mirrored affected <a href="http://www.replica-watches-club.com/replica-cartier" rel="nofollow"><strong>Cartier watch</strong></a> attending the aforementioned with the real. Unless you acquaint the aberration of them, otherwise, cipher is able to analyze them. First, admitting they are crafted by the aboriginal brands, they accept been bedevilled by anyone before. After all, acclimated items don't beggarly that there are damaged or crafted by others added than the aboriginal manufacturers.longgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17588180289785941023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-62163562994827145882008-04-06T16:32:00.000-05:002008-04-06T16:32:00.000-05:00From Susan Smith-PeterThe decision to close the Re...From Susan Smith-Peter<BR/>The decision to close the Reading Room is both outrageous and very damaging to me personally. I am doing work on Siberian regionalists and the Library of Congress holds the best collection of them in the country. In addition, the reference materials on the walls of the rooms are of great importance to scholars of Russia, as so little material has been digitized on Russian history. My tenure year is coming up, and I need to do the research now, not who knows when it will open again. I fell particularly saddened because the Russian history community has already had to deal with the closing of the main pre-revolutionary historical archive in Russia, RGIA. At the time, I thought something like that couldn't happen in America, but it seems that it can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-27891665824159318222008-04-02T09:55:00.000-05:002008-04-02T09:55:00.000-05:00Leave it to TR reflexively to work conspiratorial ...Leave it to TR reflexively to work conspiratorial conservatives into every discussion, no matter how unrelated to the issue at hand. And it seems from the previous commentaries that Congress may indeed have more to do with the closure than TR suggested early on. BTW, TR, this from no "chickenhawk" academic, but a VFW life member.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-38693869256686718612008-03-28T22:05:00.000-05:002008-03-28T22:05:00.000-05:00I have been informed by reliable sources that the ...I have been informed by reliable sources that the primary people pushing for the closure are Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois and (on the library side) Deanna Marcum, the Associate Librarian for Library Services. <BR/><BR/>The most effective way to oppose this is to contact a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on the Library, especially if you are a constituent. The members of this committee can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress_Joint_Committee_on_the_Library <BR/><BR/>The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (of which I am the Executive Director) has been urging its members to contact these Senators and Representatives and also Dr. Billington. Hopefully, this will have an effect.<BR/><BR/>I'm glad the non-Slavic Europeanists are also getting involved.<BR/><BR/>Dmitry GorenburgUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05947226285979599477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-28342124986941655142008-03-28T11:49:00.000-05:002008-03-28T11:49:00.000-05:00I find Mike's point about passivity vs. activity v...I find Mike's point about passivity vs. activity very compelling.<BR/><BR/>There is also, it seems, a difference between including display space for exhibits in a library (Anna's point about the value of seeing manuscripts is important) and turning a library into a museum. <BR/><BR/>There are many ways to bring students and the public into archives and libraries to see how they work and what they hold while still having them function primarily as research space. There are many good models for that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-24770394866077548422008-03-28T07:47:00.000-05:002008-03-28T07:47:00.000-05:00This is Mike Sizer: The impetus behind the closur...This is Mike Sizer: The impetus behind the closure comes from Congress in this case, who insist on having the Abe Lincoln Bicentennial in a fancy place. It is unclear what Billington thinks about it, but he's obviously not doing a decent enough job advocating for users of the Reading Rooms, and, I would argue, in reminding Congress what the Library is for. That's his job!<BR/><BR/>As for the argument about the exhibit space being more useful for more people than a Reading Room... we have museums for exhibits. The problem is not that an exhibit is going up, the problem is that it is going up IN THE LIBRARY AND NOT A MUSEUM. Sure, the American History Museum is under renovation right now, but it seems very short-sighted to diminish the research emphasis of the Library in favor of making it serve as a museum.<BR/><BR/>It's also part of turning the National Mall into a passively experienced place for its citizens rather than a place that people USE (the new Capitol visitor center is part of that, as are the changes in the museums).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-46387005745364535272008-03-27T21:50:00.000-05:002008-03-27T21:50:00.000-05:00Who is in fact behind the decision to close the Eu...Who is in fact behind the decision to close the European reading room? The Librarian of Congress, himself a distinguished scholar of Russian history (and originally appointed in 1987, by the way)? Or the congressional Special Joint Committee--a group led by some of the most liberal Senators? Or someone else entirely?<BR/><BR/>It is easy to point the finger at "Republicans" without a shred of evidence to support it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-8972928325458446532008-03-27T19:21:00.000-05:002008-03-27T19:21:00.000-05:00Well yes, Susan -- i agree with you, and I do thin...Well yes, Susan -- i agree with you, and I do think Anna's point is well taken. I think, however, that one context to put all of this in is that we are currently operating in an environment in which Republicans have been starving the budgets for cultural production of all kinds, and that this is a deliberate strategy to decapitate what they regard as an inherently liberal intelligentsia. So to the extent that I believe in the mission that Anna is advocating for, I would question why these two values need compete with each other.<BR/><BR/>Oh! I forgot! The military budget!<BR/><BR/>TRTenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-27369278907530659332008-03-27T17:32:00.000-05:002008-03-27T17:32:00.000-05:00TR, just telling you, but our Senator Dodd serves ...TR, just telling you, but our Senator Dodd serves on the Special Joint Committee on the Library of Congress.<BR/>He will take our e-mails.<BR/><BR/>I take Anna Pinkert's point about the need to balance outreach with scholarly services. But I remember as a kid being as mesmerized looking at the beautiful reading rooms with all the books as by the exhibits. In other words, part of the display/public education comes from people seeing that there is a European Reading Room, and an Africa/Middle East one.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-51506965730757181082008-03-27T14:48:00.000-05:002008-03-27T14:48:00.000-05:00Hi TR, this is a former student of yours, and muse...Hi TR, this is a former student of yours, and museum professional. . .<BR/><BR/>I'm wondering whether European historians would be less horrified if the LOC was going to replace the reading room with a public exhibit that examines American-European relations over the last 400 years, interpreting and giving context to documents that might otherwise be difficult for non-scholars to understand.<BR/><BR/>I completely sympathize with the loss of a working space for European Studies on the National Mall. But I also sympathize with the LOC's attempt to engage with a non-scholarly audience. After all, how many European scholars would there be if at age nine they hadn't been brought to see the Gutenberg Bible at the LOC or a copy of the Magna Carta at the National Archives?<BR/><BR/>How do you, as a historian, think that the balance should work between scholarly/non-scholarly space in archives and libraries?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-31902229476207093362008-03-27T14:38:00.000-05:002008-03-27T14:38:00.000-05:00URL too long for comment box. Sorry.URL too long for comment box. Sorry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-52944857900013403422008-03-27T14:36:00.000-05:002008-03-27T14:36:00.000-05:00Apologies, the H-France URL didn't load correctly....Apologies, the H-France URL didn't load correctly. See below<BR/><BR/>https://lists.uakron.edu/sympa/arc/h-france/2008-03/msg00118.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-77635991662174870822008-03-27T14:35:00.000-05:002008-03-27T14:35:00.000-05:00For coverage by the Chronicle of Higher Education,...For coverage by the Chronicle of Higher Education, see http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/03/2253n.htm (login necessary)<BR/><BR/>For the H-France post, see https://lists.uakron.edu/sympa/arc/h-france/2008-03/msg00118.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-4894974265236724092008-03-27T14:06:00.000-05:002008-03-27T14:06:00.000-05:00This is Mike Sizer:H-France published a letter by ...This is Mike Sizer:<BR/><BR/>H-France published a letter by Katharine Norris of AU this morning on the closing, as well as lists of several people to contact and other things related to the issue. I think they were waiting to get confirmation of details/looking for specific contacts on my letter which I didn't provide.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for posting this, TR. It is important that the scholarly community's voice be heard on this issue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-805430002614685442008-03-27T10:21:00.000-05:002008-03-27T10:21:00.000-05:00Oh, TR, this is atrocious news. Thank you for post...Oh, TR, this is atrocious news. Thank you for posting this. I'm even more appalled at the list editors if what Jack Norton says is true. Ugh. <BR/><BR/>I'd be interested to hear what you suggest as organizing tactics (area-wide? discipline-wide?) for prevention of / resistance to this sort of thing. Perhaps another post?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-30891505982854779362008-03-27T09:13:00.000-05:002008-03-27T09:13:00.000-05:00The Library of Congress is upset that the public h...The Library of Congress is upset that the public has caught wind of their decision. Tough cookies. I fault the lack of transparency in the process (none). The European Reading Room was only opened in May of 1997 after renovations to the Jefferson Building. <BR/><BR/>As a follow up, H-France editors chose not to post professor Sizer's note, why I don't know. I hope it wasn't to duck controversy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-69058579151651699452008-03-27T09:03:00.001-05:002008-03-27T09:03:00.001-05:00James:You are wrong. The Librarian of Congress is...James:<BR/><BR/>You are wrong. The Librarian of Congress is appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, thinketh thou there art no Bushies in Congress?<BR/><BR/>TRTenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-9917046089340374402008-03-27T08:25:00.000-05:002008-03-27T08:25:00.000-05:00Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it Congress, no...Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it Congress, not the executive branch, who controls the Library of Congress?Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13204688519029277334noreply@blogger.com