MSHL cuts are ‘intolerable’

Apropos the article about the crunch and the Mennonite Historical Library, I am writing to say that the MSHL [Menno Simons Historical Library] has been loaded with more than its share of this situation. After suffering from two drastic cuts of its budget, it is now ordered to close its facility half-time. Last year 1,707 users came to the library. One can be certain half of these came during the morning hours when the door is now shut. Is the EMU now on a half-time operation? Are there no longer classes in church and Mennonite history, and no longer faculty and students coming for study and research?

The MSHL consists of a remarkable collection of primary and secondary resources, not only of acadmic importance, but especially materials pertaining to our Mennonite (Anabaptist) heritage, character, and purpose. Often they are consulted from the outside, by both scholars and laypersons researching questions of faith as well as family history. It is intolerable and ironic that our doors at the MSHL should be closed to them.