The Tyee: Eric Marshall ‘Disturbed’ by Dismantling of Namesake Science Library
Between 1967 and 1992, Eric Marshall built one of the world’s finest collections on freshwater science at the University of Manitoba. Now retired and living in Cowichan Bay, B.C., the 83-year-old scientist is upset by the dismantling of the 200,000-book collection.
Owned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), the collection contained old fishery reports, rare accounts on Arctic expeditions, research on fisheries in Lake Winnipeg and four shelves worth of records and reports from the Berger Commission on Arctic gas drilling, as well as a comprehensive collection of some of the oldest journals on freshwater ecology. The Harper government closed the world-famous program, allegedly to save $2 million a year, as part of its nationwide reduction of research libraries.
According to the Jan. 11 article in the online, independent B.C.-based magazine, The Tyee, “Marshall says there appears to be little accountability and no clear plan associated with the closures…. Marshall argues that the reduction of the federal science libraries is purely ideological.”
To recognize his accomplishment in assembling the vast collection, the DFO renamed the library The Eric Marshall Aquatic Research Library on his retirement in 1992.
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.