The largest public sci-fi library in the world is under threat from new management

[morgandawn]

"If you’re a sci-fi or fantasy fan who loves to read, there’s no cooler place than the massive Eaton Collection library at UC Riverside — but all that could change soon.

Housed in the UC Riverside Libraries' Special Collections and Archives in the Tomás Rivera Library, the Eaton Collection is touted as the largest publicly accessible collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror and utopian literature in the world. But a professor who works with the collection claims new management might tear it all apart.

Science fiction author Nalo Hopkinson, a professor at UC Riverside, has posted a public plea claiming that new library management plans to drastically slash the size of the collection, and those decisions have already led to several resignations and problems among the staff."

More here

To be honest, this entire report boggles my mind, knowing how large and well established the UC Riverside collection is.  UC Riverside is one of the satellite sites where fans have sent their media fanzines in the past.   Based on this article, I would recommend that fans continue using Texas A&M University, University of Iowa or Bowling Green's Popular Culture Collection (Ohio) for the fanzine and other sci-fi/fantasy donations.

And if anyone is interested in helping save the collection, contact the author Nalo Hopkinson via the article above.

To learn more about the Eaton Collection read the 2011 Transformative Works and Cultures journal article about the Eaton Collection: http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/271/199 (also the source of the photo above).