Guest blog by déirdre ní mhathúna
The School of Scottish Studies Campaign/Iomairt Sgoil Eòlais na h-Alba is a public, student-led campaign. It has grown out of a series of meetings held privately between the Celtic and Scottish Studies Department student community and Edinburgh University management between October and December 2012.

Guest blog by déirdre ní mhathúna

The School of Scottish Studies Campaign/Iomairt Sgoil Eòlais na h-Alba is a public, student-led campaign. It has grown out of a series of meetings held privately between the Celtic and Scottish Studies Department student community and Edinburgh University management between October and December 2012.

The complex threats to Sgoil Eòlais na h-Alba include the inexplicable downgrading of the School of Scottish Studies Library and of the Celtic Library to mere university “class libraries”; the intention to extract 10% of these libraries and deposit  in  an unstaffed Undergraduate Resource Centre at a new Literatures, Languages and Cultures building; worryingly shifting percentage figures – up to 60% – of how many books should be boxed up and stored indefinitely, miles from campus; the vacant Chair of Celtic since 2009 and to crown it all, the apparent oversight by the University of Edinburgh which will leave The School of Scottish Studies Archives in an inaccessible building minus its associated library, specialist librarian, academic staff or students from 2014.  These combined issues have left campaigners with no choice but  to publicly air their concerns for the future of their disciplines.

The December 2012 University statement committing “to fundraise to provide an upgraded facility” for the School of Scottish Studies Archives, which it accepts are vital to teaching, research and public engagement, is not backed up by any timescale, business plan, risk assessment or proposed location. The promise of fully maintained access in the interim does not stand up to scrutiny.  Student representatives report that the first meeting of the internal group which will address the findings of the Archive Review has served only to underline the main concerns of the campaign.  The Review recommendations range all the way from abandonment to the highest level of  protection – all without addressing the School’s rightful place within an underfunded, Chair-less but still vibrant Celtic and Scottish Studies Department. The student campaign to safeguard its riches is testament to that vibrancy.  The campaigners’ ability to navigate a maze of management-speak, while maintaining excellent working relationships with academic, administrative and  library staff in their department speaks for the integrity and academic rigour with which they have voiced  their grievances.

The interdisciplinary resources housed in George Square  form the beating heart of countless innovative projects, not least Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o’ Riches. Digital formats allow multiple sharing – while protecting original archive sources – for academics and independent researchers alike.  But they will never  replace highly trained professionals who have spent years learning, decoding and contextualising tapes, manuscripts and printed materials, many of which have yet to be fully investigated.    Within these walls, an integrated academic treasure has been gathered and protected over 60 years on behalf of the Scottish people.  However complete Tobar an Dualchais becomes, neither it nor a National Sound Archive can ever replace the myriad collections of Sgoil Eòlais na h-Alba. I ask you to join me in supporting the courageous  lead that student campaigners have taken  by demanding the safekeeping of this, one of Scotland’s most precious treasures.

All interested people are warmly invited to the steps of 27 George Square on any Friday at 13.00hrs.  The campaigners will answers questions, listen to your concerns and entertain you with music, story and dance – the fruits of their studies brought vividly to life in a way that the School’s founding ethnologists, Calum Maclean of Raasay and Hamish Henderson, would surely applaud.

http://scottishstudiescampaign.wordpress.com/

déirdre ní mhathúna is an artist who frequently uses archive sources and recorded sound to develop her work, particularly in collaboration with rural communities.  déirdre is currently finishing up a year-long residency with Strathnaver Museum in Bettyhill, Sutherland.