Libricide

DFO Libraries off to the dump

The consolidation of DFO’s scientific research libraries from nine to only two (Institute of Ocean Sciences (IOS) in Sidney BC and at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) in Dartmouth NS) this fall (2013) has a dealt a major blow to DFO’s research capacity and the morale of its scientists.  The decision was made by executives within the Department as a cost-cutting exercise without any consultation with research scientists or any consideration of the impact it would have, both psychologically and materially, on research in the Department.

Each of the nine libraries had holdings totaling many hundreds of thousands of items, many of which were unique to that region documenting the early studies on local fisheries and marine ecosystems.  As well, distributed across the libraries were early monographs and expedition reports that have wonderful hand tinted illustrations – collectors items worth thousands of dollars.  There were also thousands of textbooks and manuals related to fisheries and marine sciences.  In the rush to implement the executive decision the library holdings are being unceremoniously dumped without any public record of what we are losing and what will be left.  This amounts to “libricide” (See Wikipedia quote below).

As an example, see the photograph link below of the DFO The Maurice Lamontagne Institute library in Mont Joli, Québec in a dumpster.

http://tinypic.com/r/2cwo3a1/5

From Wikipedia:
Book burning (also biblioclasm or libricide) is the practice of destroying, often ceremoniously, books or other written material. In modern times, other forms of media, such asphonograph records, video tapes, and CDs have also been ceremoniously burned or shredded. Book burning is usually carried out in public, and is generally motivated by moral,religious, or political objections to the material.
Book burning can be emblematic of a harsh and oppressive regime which is seeking to censor or silence an aspect of a nation's culture. In some cases the works destroyed are irreplaceable and their burning constitutes a severe loss to cultural heritage. Examples include obliteration of the Library of Baghdad, the burning of books and burying of scholarsunder China's Qin Dynasty, the destruction of Aztec codices by Itzcoatl, and the Nazi book burnings.
Book burning can be an act of contempt for the book's contents or author, and the act is intended to draw wider public attention to this opinion. Examples include the burning ofWilhelm Reich's books by the FDA, the 2010 Qur'an-burning controversy, and the burning of Beatles records after a remark from John Lennon concerning Jesus Christ.