The Music and Theatre Library of Sweden is being dismantled!

Dear Colleagues,

On 5 February the General Director of Statens musikverk, Stina Westerberg announced punitive budget cuts to Sweden’s national music library, Musik- och teaterbibliotek, which involve the loss of 25% of its workforce.

If you would like to protest against this, please copy the text below and send it to:

the Swedish Minister of Culture lena.adelsohn.liljeroth@regeringskansliet.se

Copy to: Stina Westerberg stina.westerberg@musikverk.se

Please, feel free to add any personal comments, which may strengthen the case! Don't forget to sign the letter and include your position and place of work!

Best wishes,

Pia Shekhter

PS: You might get an angled answer, glossing over the facts.

"The library of the Royal Academy of Music (Musikaliska Akademien) was founded in 1771. For almost 250 years it has served as the national music library, today named Musik- och teaterbibliotek; it is Sweden’s only public specialized music library. In 1922 and 1937 the Drottningholm Theatre museum and the Drottningholm Theatre library were founded. The collections of these historically and culturally significant institutions are preserved at the Musik- och teaterbibliotek, under the umbrella authority of Statens musikverk.

On Tuesday 5 February, Stina Westerberg, General Director of Statens musikverk, announced her decision for budget cutbacks at the library:

· The post of Chief Librarian will be removed

· Staff posts to be cut will also include 2 librarians,1 archivist and 3 assistant librarians

If carried out, this decision will have an extremely negative effect on Swedish music and theatre culture. The decision will also make it well-nigh impossible to continue the professional work required to maintain the library’s unique and world-famous collections which are part of Swedish cultural heritage.

If we cannot prevent these cutbacks, library services will inevitably deteriorate drastically, having a negative effect upon its many national and international readers and users, including orchestras, students, musicians, researchers and the general public. We fear that the currently modest opening hours will have to be further reduced. And the behind-the-scenes work of acquisitions, cataloguing and preservation will also suffer.

I lodge my protest against this decision that will so negatively impact the effectivity of library operations, and I strongly recommend that resources be made available to enable the library to function fully professionally, at a national and international level, as Sweden’s library for music, dance and theatre."