http://gopetition.com/signatures/keep-european-resource-centre-baykov-library-on-main-birmingham-university-campus.html Online petition signatures en-us Thu, 9 Apr 2026 12:44 UTC GoPetition RSS Feed Generator Copyright 2026 GoPetition https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8343673?utm_medium=rss Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:25:51 UTC 8343673 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8304576?utm_medium=rss Mon, 9 Aug 2010 09:39:46 UTC 8304576 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8296193?utm_medium=rss Please leave the Baykov Library on the main campus at Birmingham, so that it is accessible to researchers.

]]> Sat, 7 Aug 2010 06:33:18 UTC 8296193 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8291720?utm_medium=rss Fri, 6 Aug 2010 05:04:20 UTC 8291720 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8286024?utm_medium=rss Thu, 5 Aug 2010 04:41:11 UTC 8286024 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8271758?utm_medium=rss Tue, 3 Aug 2010 06:11:41 UTC 8271758 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8267866?utm_medium=rss Mon, 2 Aug 2010 01:21:08 UTC 8267866 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8267244?utm_medium=rss I did my undergrad degree at the POLSIS department at the same Uni. Love the library - it is much quitter and comfortable place to study than the main library. Keep it in.

]]> Mon, 2 Aug 2010 11:38:25 UTC 8267244 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8256049?utm_medium=rss I am a University of Birmingham graduate with a BA Hons in Russian & History, and I have worked in the field of Russian research and translation ever since graduating in 1995. Resources for the study of Russian language and culture are diminishing worldwide as less importance is attached to it and I think it would be a terrible loss if the same kind of thing happens at such a renowned institution as Birmingham University.

]]> Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:11:20 UTC 8256049 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8247763?utm_medium=rss Literature is a resource that cannot be undervalued. Keep it accessible for all!

]]> Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:06:00 UTC 8247763 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8240194?utm_medium=rss Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:16:12 UTC 8240194 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8240055?utm_medium=rss Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:54:01 UTC 8240055 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8219447?utm_medium=rss Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:34:43 UTC 8219447 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8209010?utm_medium=rss 100% in support of this petition. Ridiculous idea to move our library.

]]> Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:50:21 UTC 8209010 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8197623?utm_medium=rss Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:41:49 UTC 8197623 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8190068?utm_medium=rss As Director of the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Languages, I am well aware both of the importance of the Baykov Library in itself and the importance of the location of the Library at the heart of the university. The new award-winning UCL SSEES building has the UCL SSEES Library at its heart, literally. In my position as Director of SSEES and of CEELBAS I can vouch for the vital role of Russian and East European studies, and the Library, at Birmingham - for the UK and internationally.

]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:36:01 UTC 8190068 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8186115?utm_medium=rss Co-location of specialist library facilities with the academic departments is of paramount importance for some disciplines. When SSEES joined UCL in 1999, retaining its proximity to the SSEES Library was at the top of the negotiation agenda. In a similar way, the Baykov Library is an invaluable resource and keeping it within the main Birmimgham University campus needs to be prioritised to safeguard future research excellence.

]]> Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:59:50 UTC 8186115 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8185140?utm_medium=rss Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:57:43 UTC 8185140 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8182976?utm_medium=rss Wed, 21 Jul 2010 04:13:07 UTC 8182976 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8182069?utm_medium=rss Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:22:13 UTC 8182069 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8176837?utm_medium=rss Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:45:18 UTC 8176837 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8176372?utm_medium=rss When I started my reserach on the Soviet economy in the 1980s a visit to CREES and the Baykov library was a first priority. I spent a month in the library and profited a lot from conversations over the copy machine, at lunches, seminars and coffees with CREES scholars and other guests. The fact that the library was at the heart of CREES geographically was of course the condition for´this visit and later ones being so profitable. A library is the heart of research activities! Let it stay

]]> Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:21:40 UTC 8176372 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8176031?utm_medium=rss Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:21:54 UTC 8176031 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8170908?utm_medium=rss I spent a few months at the CREES and was impressed by this library. The library (and the librarians) did a great job of collecting and presenting enormous wealth of knowledge about the region. Difficult to imagine one of the best research centers in the field without the Baykov library! If the University needs the CREES it also needs what makes the CREES one of the centres of excellence!

]]> Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:55:13 UTC 8170908 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8170542?utm_medium=rss Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:28:45 UTC 8170542 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8168341?utm_medium=rss The Baykov Library is a unique collection and has long been a magnet for visiting scholars. Its attraction depends heavily on its being very close to faculty and visiting faculty and research student offices. The same applies to the rest of the European Resource Centre. If Birmingham wishes to maintain its standing as an international centre of research, it should not downgrade its resources by moving the ERC off-campus.

]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:35:30 UTC 8168341 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8167011?utm_medium=rss I was a Lecturer at CREES 1978-91. The Baykov Library was an extremely valuable research resource for me. It is vital that it remain in close proximity to CREES.
Christopher Davis
Reader in Command and Transition Economies, University of Oxford

]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:39:47 UTC 8167011 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8166737?utm_medium=rss Please don't make the same mistake with CREES as you did with Cultural Studies - I am a former member of both departments, both key brand identities for the university - and in the current climate, surely the University of Birmingham cannot afford to distrupt and undermine further its international standing.

]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:29:59 UTC 8166737 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8165581?utm_medium=rss Keeping Baykov where it is would keep CREES strong and help identity-preservation. Identities are easy to destroy but hard to create. I worked at Baykov while doing my PhD and kept going back throughout the years while visiting CREES.

]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 06:06:01 UTC 8165581 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8165520?utm_medium=rss Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:51:44 UTC 8165520 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8160022?utm_medium=rss Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:36:24 UTC 8160022 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8156079?utm_medium=rss as director of the institute for east european studies at free university in berlin, i know how important a good library is for ongoing teaching and research activities. it would be a pity to tear a valuable source center apart from the academic core.

]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:20:36 UTC 8156079 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8155817?utm_medium=rss This library is of huge importance for the study of Russia and Central/Eastern Europe. When based in England I was a regular user, combining sessions there with attendance at the early-evening research seminars. I always pay a visit there when giving at paper at Birmingham - but that would become impossible if the proposed move occurs.

]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:31:40 UTC 8155817 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8155686?utm_medium=rss Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:04:14 UTC 8155686 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8155637?utm_medium=rss Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:56:02 UTC 8155637 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8144910?utm_medium=rss I spent a few days with CREES in the late 1990s and enjoyed working at the rich and excellent Baykov Library, where I could see how lively a research place this was. This should be preserved - please do not disconnect the minds from the tools and materials.

]]> Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:44:47 UTC 8144910 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8143001?utm_medium=rss Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:14:20 UTC 8143001 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8141839?utm_medium=rss I strongly support the position of Prof. Julian Cooper.

]]> Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:31:35 UTC 8141839 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8140048?utm_medium=rss Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:03:06 UTC 8140048 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8137780?utm_medium=rss Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:11:17 UTC 8137780 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8137683?utm_medium=rss Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:56:06 UTC 8137683 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8137144?utm_medium=rss I am greatly saddened to see as important an institution as the University of Birmingham joining the general trend towards neglect and derision of regional expertise and long-term experts, particularly regarding Russia and Eastern Europe, where the UK has traditionally been a centre of scholarship, creativity and excellence.

]]> Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:28:19 UTC 8137144 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8136207?utm_medium=rss The Baykov library is a renowned resource for the study of the field. CREES as a major Centre has an excellent reputation in Russian and East European studies. Any proposal such as the planned move will have a negative impact on the field at Birmingham. I urge that the library remain on the main campus.

]]> Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:25:27 UTC 8136207 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8134829?utm_medium=rss Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:15:10 UTC 8134829 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8134676?utm_medium=rss Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:46:13 UTC 8134676 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8131338?utm_medium=rss How can the ERI be a 'hub for the University’s staff and students engaged in teaching, learning and research' if the resources required for this are moved miles away?! The ERC/Baykov library provided me with essential services during my MA and PhD at CREES at the University of Birmingham and it is very poor strategic thinking to separate it from the rest of the ERI of which it is an integral element.

]]> Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:10:52 UTC 8131338 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8131050?utm_medium=rss Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:19:17 UTC 8131050 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8129710?utm_medium=rss Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:39:36 UTC 8129710 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8128953?utm_medium=rss Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:47:54 UTC 8128953 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8128212?utm_medium=rss Please keep that priceless asset accessible.

]]> Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:35:33 UTC 8128212 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8127811?utm_medium=rss I was for many years director of the analogous center at Harvard University. I am a long-time admirer of CREES, which is a world leader in its field, and visited it this past spring. It would be a pity to cut it off from so key a resource.

]]> Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:08:21 UTC 8127811 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8127752?utm_medium=rss Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:57:43 UTC 8127752 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8127741?utm_medium=rss More difficult access to such resources - and there are few such resources available - will be detrimental to both academic and government/public policy work.It is regrettable that while the importance of the subject becomes ever clearer,resources for its study become more scarce or harder to consult.

]]> Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:55:49 UTC 8127741 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8127512?utm_medium=rss Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:16:09 UTC 8127512 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8127180?utm_medium=rss Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:11:40 UTC 8127180 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8126972?utm_medium=rss Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:18:03 UTC 8126972 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8126132?utm_medium=rss The Baykov Library has played an important role for the area studies and comparative economic studies, with CREES, Birmingham. I hope the Baykov has kept its excellent influence in the accessible place of Birmingham.

]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:18:52 UTC 8126132 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8126124?utm_medium=rss WhenI stayed at CREES in 1996 as a esearch fellow, both the staff and Baykov
Library. I wish strongly that the Library keep
on the main university campus for the staff sand student s and social scientists from
abroad.

]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:14:21 UTC 8126124 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8125793?utm_medium=rss Sun, 11 Jul 2010 08:21:14 UTC 8125793 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8125440?utm_medium=rss This material is 'lifeblood' of CREES and hence University decision is quite difficult to understand.

]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 06:13:30 UTC 8125440 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8123410?utm_medium=rss I am a former staff member (Principal Administrator) of the OECD. As such, I was in charge of the substantive work done on the then Soviet Union. I and my consultants used the Library as though it were in Paris. In fact, CREES (R. W. Davies, R. Amann, J. Cooper, P. Hanson) was intimately involved in OECD work for years.
Without the resources of the Library we would have had great difficulties as there is no match for it here in Paris.

]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 09:02:27 UTC 8123410 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8122922?utm_medium=rss Sun, 11 Jul 2010 06:17:45 UTC 8122922 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8122302?utm_medium=rss Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:55:08 UTC 8122302 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8119516?utm_medium=rss I have used the Baykov collection, and hope it can remain in a location convenient to scholars and students. "A flexible learning space" is pointless without books. What are our students supposed to be learning in libraries that no longer have any books for them to read?

]]> Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:14:48 UTC 8119516 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8118002?utm_medium=rss Sat, 10 Jul 2010 04:04:21 UTC 8118002 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8117941?utm_medium=rss Knowing the central role that Birmingham's CREES has played in the study of the Soviet Union and Russia,and knowing the importance of direct access to research materials for students and faculty, I was disturbed to learn of the plan to move the Baykov library to a remote location.

]]> Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:50:44 UTC 8117941 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8117886?utm_medium=rss Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:36:14 UTC 8117886 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8117384?utm_medium=rss The Baykov Library is a most essential part of the Centre for Russian and East European studies, in particular for us who come as guest researchers to Birmingham, as it contains a wealth of hard-to-access elsewhere i Europe literature from Russia on almost any topic of interest.

]]> Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:17:53 UTC 8117384 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8117381?utm_medium=rss Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:17:43 UTC 8117381 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8117319?utm_medium=rss Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:02:36 UTC 8117319 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8112661?utm_medium=rss At the FCO we greatly value CREES for the expertise and analysis it provides on Eastern Europe. Everything should be done to consolidate CREES's reputation as a centre of excellence. Separating it physically from its internationally renowned library surely works against the grain.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 10:41:03 UTC 8112661 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8112417?utm_medium=rss Fri, 9 Jul 2010 10:10:54 UTC 8112417 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8112164?utm_medium=rss Fri, 9 Jul 2010 09:35:25 UTC 8112164 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8111687?utm_medium=rss Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Russian International Security Policy, CREES, University of Birmingham 1987-1999
Honorary Senior Research Fellow, CREES, 1999-2003
Head, Russia and Eurasia Programme, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, 1993-2005
Reader in International Relations, London School of Economics

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 08:36:19 UTC 8111687 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8111667?utm_medium=rss Fri, 9 Jul 2010 08:34:37 UTC 8111667 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8111463?utm_medium=rss Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 08:10:13 UTC 8111463 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8111446?utm_medium=rss Fri, 9 Jul 2010 08:08:08 UTC 8111446 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8111375?utm_medium=rss CREES is a world-renowned centre and its resources should be built on, not scattered.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 07:58:01 UTC 8111375 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8111118?utm_medium=rss I write as a East European analyst at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We hugely value CREES as a centre of expertise on Eastern Europe and would wish to see it remain so. I agree whole-heartedly with Michael Kaser that the best library in its field should be sited together with the best University in its field.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 07:22:27 UTC 8111118 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110965?utm_medium=rss Throughout my career, this renowned library has been one of the two of three main reference points for scholars in the field of Soviet and Post-Soviet. It is inconceivable that the university intends to separate it from CREES. This is the equivalent of amputating a limb and storing its replacement in a remoted location. It cannot fail to have a harmful effect on academics, students and everyone else. Surely a university whose VC is an economic historian would not proceed with this bizarre plan

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:58:20 UTC 8110965 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110953?utm_medium=rss As one who has worked in the field of Russian affairs since graduating from Leeds University in 1981 - for the MoD, the BBC and now as Executive Director of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce - I am appalled at the shot-sighted nature of this planned move. Everything should be done to preserve the interntaional reputation of CREES as a centre of excellence; and to encourage its students to take justifiable pride in their studies. This absurd move flies in the face of commons sense.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:56:48 UTC 8110953 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110947?utm_medium=rss The Baykov library is a formidable resource. The quality and depth of the holdings, the knowledgeable librarians and the mixing of students, staff and visiting researchers all contributed to its importance for research while I was a student in CREES (masters and PhD). Removing the ease of access will very likely mean that future students will not enjoy the same spillovers from which I benefited enormously. Please reconsider this decision.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:55:49 UTC 8110947 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110886?utm_medium=rss Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:46:12 UTC 8110886 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110859?utm_medium=rss Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:41:58 UTC 8110859 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110813?utm_medium=rss The Baykov library is a treasury belonging to British scholars and made usable by its current location. It is spectacular, holding the major resources that one needs to do research on modern Russia. I find it difficult to believe that a university would allow relocation of this library well away from the faculty (and visiting faculty).

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:31:42 UTC 8110813 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110698?utm_medium=rss The Baykov library collection is a major depository of publications on the area of the former Soviet Union. I often send students from Cambridge to consult its resources. Its contents are irreplacable and it is essential that access is not difficult for readers. Reducing the access, holdings and additions to the library would be an act of intellectual sabotage. It would greatly diminish the intellectual resources in the UK with respect to the area of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:10:39 UTC 8110698 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110643?utm_medium=rss I fully support the petition as quality is clearly under threat. I was part of the 1995 TQA team that awarded the Russian Department and CREES one of the highest marks available, substantially because of the research and learning resources of the Baykov Library. There is no question that its removal to a more distant location will affect the quality of both research and student output. A rethink is essential if the University is to retain its international reputation for quality and integrity.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 06:00:00 UTC 8110643 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8110619?utm_medium=rss The synergies arising from the co-location of CREES and the Baykov Library have for decades enhanced the worldwide reputation of CREES as a top research centre specialising in Russia and Eastern Europe. The planned separation would be a serious blow to visiting scholars and students alike.

]]> Fri, 9 Jul 2010 05:54:10 UTC 8110619 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8109774?utm_medium=rss Fri, 9 Jul 2010 03:34:39 UTC 8109774 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8106534?utm_medium=rss Thu, 8 Jul 2010 05:06:29 UTC 8106534 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8106488?utm_medium=rss Thu, 8 Jul 2010 05:01:41 UTC 8106488 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8103205?utm_medium=rss Very short-sighted. A loss of an important asset both to the university as a whole and to those who use (and will want to use) the library. And why no contact with staff before the decision? On the face of it this sounds deplorable. Moving it will surely kill it.

]]> Thu, 8 Jul 2010 12:01:39 UTC 8103205 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8100375?utm_medium=rss Thu, 8 Jul 2010 07:55:13 UTC 8100375 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8099418?utm_medium=rss Thu, 8 Jul 2010 05:55:30 UTC 8099418 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8099369?utm_medium=rss Thu, 8 Jul 2010 05:48:31 UTC 8099369 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8098564?utm_medium=rss Thu, 8 Jul 2010 03:23:19 UTC 8098564 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8098438?utm_medium=rss This seems an incredibly blinkered and foolish proposal.

]]> Thu, 8 Jul 2010 02:54:01 UTC 8098438 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8098108?utm_medium=rss Thu, 8 Jul 2010 01:18:41 UTC 8098108 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8096161?utm_medium=rss The Baykov Library is one of the greatest research libraries in Russian and East European Studies in Europe. The changes propose would at a stroke destroy its value to scholars from all parts of the world who come to use its incomparable collection - and inflict lasting damage to Birminghm University's reputation as the leading university in this field in Britain and one of the foremost such centres in the world.

]]> Wed, 7 Jul 2010 05:55:45 UTC 8096161 https://gopetition.com/signature/locate/8095054?utm_medium=rss Wed, 7 Jul 2010 03:17:04 UTC 8095054