We Did It

GH brings good news

Common sense is up against it these days, so celebration is called for whenever it prevails. Kerrie O’Brien in The Age reports this morning that ‘State Library Victoria has abandoned a proposed restructure after an outcry against it from staff, their union and hundreds of Australia’s most prominent writers and academics.’ It quotes Christine Christian, president of the board: ‘After careful consideration of the feedback that we received during the entire consultation process – since September – we’ve decided to withdraw the reorganisation proposal.’

Some of that ‘feedback’ was on Cricket Et Al here and here. Cricket Et Al also organised this open letter, which just about killed me, but was worth the effort. This statement on the SLV website will go up in the trophy cabinet alongside the 2021 campaign in which I was involved to salvage National Archives of Australia - keen observers, noting the overlap in signatories, will have intuited that I started with the same address book. The message is that if we want to conserve our intellectual and cultural heritage, we must be prepared to fight for it.

Sir Redmond B would be proud

Anyway, there’s some unfinished business here. This dispute has illustrated how badly SLV board and management are in need of renewal. There is a sorry lack of library expertise among the directors, while the senior executive is a patchwork of interim and part-time appointments. It’s time for a clean out. This great institution should have the leadership it deserves. And at Saturday’s rally, which I can confirm will be going ahead, that’s what we’ll be continuing our calls for.

Needless to say, the tone may be somewhat more celebratory than we’d expected! So come along, look around, take in the beauty and serenity, marvel at the magnificence of the collection. After all, SLV doesn’t belong to any cocktail party clique. It’s your library.