Apologies for cross-posting, and to those outside London
Forwarding this just in case anyone is free and interested in helping
with this rescue mission (see below) It will be hard to find anyone on
those dates/times, and such short notice. I cant do it, if you are
wondering.
Also relevant to some of us that Womens Health has closed completely,
sadly (their website is ambiguous).
(Gail: the British Library would take and keep everything from UK and
maybe beyond, unless they have it already, but it wouldn't be kept
together and it would have to be sent to them).
Fiona
Fiona McLean
Library and Information Service Manager
Cancerbackup
3 Bath Place
Rivington Street
London
EC2A 3JR
Direct: 020 7920 7241
S/board: 020 7696 9003
Fax: 020 7696 9002
Web: www.cancerbackup.org.uk
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Company No: 2803321
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for Health Libraries Group HLG members
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Shannon Robalino
Sent: 06 June 2006 09:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Women's health library closing - help urgently needed
Apologies if you've already seen this. I received the information via an
online BB.
Original message follows.
What follows is the text of an email forwarded to me but originally from
Gail Chester <[log in to unmask]>
You may know that the Feminist Library has been under threat of closure
for
the last two years, and has been kept from dispersal by a small group of
mainly third wave feminists who want to protect our heritage. We are
currently negotiating with various institutions to see if they can take
the
entire unique collection of Women's Liberation material, and allow the
current collective to expand it while protecting its integrity.
Meanwhile, as we deal with our own difficulties, we have just received
an
extremely urgent call from Women's Health, the feminist health
organisation
which has just shut after 20 years. If we do not come and remove their
resource library by the end of next week it will be thrown out! So even
though the Feminist Library is desperately short of space and
womanpower, we
felt we needed to prevent yet another chunk of our extremely valuable
feminist information being consigned to the dustbin of history
(literally!)
And then hopefully the Women's Health material will find a new home with
the
rest of the Feminist Library.
To give you an idea of what needs moving, the material - primarily
pamphlets, books and journals - is shelved on metal units approximately
31ft
wide (which can be dismantled into 3 ft widths), and 5 shelves high.
We need the following help:
1. People to help pack Women's Health's library into boxes, dismantle
the
shelving (tall and heavy), and move all this to the Feminist Library.
2. People to move stuff round at the FL to prepare for the arrival of
the WH
stuff. (This could be done this weekend, for people who are not
available to
help during the week.)
3. Someone to drive a van with the shelving and boxes from WH to FL.
4. A van (we will have to hire one if no-one has one we could borrow).
5. Boxes to pack the stuff into. I have some, which need moving to WH
(preferably on Wednesday or Friday), along with a ladder I have.
Unfortunately, the woman who is supervising the closing down of WH is
very
restricted in the times when she is available to let us in to do the
packing
and shelf-dismantling. So people are needed to help during the following
daytimes:
Friday 9th June
Monday 12th June
Wednesday 14th June - afternoon only
Thursday 15th June - I suggest that we have all the packing done by
then,
and hire the van to move that day.
Please let me know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE what you can offer to do, as I
have
to be in touch with WH tomorrow, otherwise we are buggered, and yet more
irreplaceable women's history will go into a skip. Email me personally
at
[log in to unmask] with a phone number where I can contact
you,
stating what you can offer, and also ask around for us. Many thanks.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Gail
PS Aside from the present crisis, even in this transitional phase, we
still
urgently need help, particularly in the daytime. And we are very
concerned
that you do not throw out your Women's Liberation ephemera and precious
irreplaceable material. We are working hard to find the Feminist Library
a
good permanent home where new generations of women will have continuing
access to it, so please get in touch if you can help in any way.
The Feminist Library, 5 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7XW. 020
7928
7789 (Please do not leave messages of help with the Women's Health
crisis on
this number, as we will not get it in time.)
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