Peter Brett Interview

I recently email Peter Brett, who along with Sol Gamsu, who set up the Facebook, ipetition and flickr acount to SAVE SENATE HOUSE.

Pete has responded to the Q & A. And here is his response.

1.'Pete and Sol. First question. Why did you set up the facebook page?

Well the first facebook group was a UCL-only one. The idea being, initially, to pressure each college individually into helping to make-up the new shortfall announced by the HEFCE review. I met Sol as a result of setting-up this group, and felt generally that the issue was likely to get more exposure on facebook than it would simply in student publications (like London Student, who did a very good piece on the Library in the Spring).

2. Why do you feel its important to keep this library open?

Because the basic facts of the situation are, unusually, very simple: if SHL closes, universities in London lose money and a library. Their own libraries have been shaped for decades around SH's, and the expense to each of them of replacing SHL's 'core' holdings would be massively higher than a proportional contribution to keeping the library open. Even if, then, you don't agree that knowledge and education matter enough by themselves to be protected anyway, there is no reason to support SHL's closure on principle. The problem, of course, is that persuading the colleges to pursue this collective interest is a very, very complicated matter.

3. What feedback have you been getting back from students?

Very positive. Most students who have contacted us had not heard anything about the HEFCE review, and were horrified when they found out. Another typical response has been that SHL is both more user-friendly, and has more books, than students' own university libraries.

4. Do you feel there's been much feedback from the library? Or is there ways the library could have helped your campaign to stop the closure?

Yes, we have had a good amount of helpful and supportive feedback from the library. In a personal capacity, a lot of library staff (like you, Les!) have also helped to publicise our campaign, and the library has also, very helpfully, allowed us to display our flyers to visitors.

5. Apart from facebook, ipetition and flickr, are there anything other media tools you are using in this campaign?

No, we are not. All of these, however, have been very useful. We hope to submit our petition to the Senate House working group in the Autumn.

6. Finally, what would you say to anybody (students or otherwise) about Senate house and what they could do to assist in your campaign?

This campaign really, really matters. Education in London could truly suffer, and for no good reason.

So ....

Sign the petition

Write to your college head - see the facebook page for suggestions.

And tell your friends!

Thanks for the interview Pete.

I'll try and update with more information as soon as possible.