Budget Cuts Force AAP to Close Facility

Dean Kent Kleinman of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning announced the closing of the Knight Visual Resources Facility yesterday, due to budget cuts within the college.

The facility, containing 35 mm and lantern slides, as well as recently digitized images, is one of the University’s oldest resources. Founded in 1880 to support the AAP, the facility is home to one of the largest image collections on campus. Located in Sibley Hall, the KVRF allows individuals to check out its extensive collection of videos and digital slides, which feature images ranging from classical art to architectural design plans.

According to Kleinman, much of the image collection will be digitized, with certain slides given priority status to be preserved. The closing is effective June 1, and the facility will remain active until then.

The closing is one in a growing line of budget-related University shutdowns. Although the preeminence of digital images overtaking hard copy images is partly responsible for the closing, Kleinman stated in an e-mail to AAP students that “the fiscal pressure on the College has increased the urgency for enacting structural changes.”

Though a recent development, the closing has already sparked nascent sentiments of resentment against students and faculty alike. Jaideep Chatterjee grad emphasized that there seems to have been little warning and precursor to the closing.

“This is a facility that brings a certain degree of intellectual capital to the university,” Chapterjee said. “We don’t know how it’s going to be restructured. That’s part of the problem.”

Though Chatterjee said it is unclear at this point what can be done, he hopes there will be continued reaction to the closing by affected students.