The Physical Sciences Library in Clark Hall will be closing its doors on Dec. 18 as a result of the University’s budget cuts. Almost all books and reserve materials will be transferred to other libraries on campus.

The library announced its closing last March inconspicuously on an online statement; future plans for the open space are still up for discussion.

According to the library’s website, the PSL had to cut $1.7 million from its budget this year and lost an additional $1.3 million from its unrestricted reserve balance.

No longer able to afford the upkeep of the PSL, the University put together a transition team last spring semester — consisting of faculty, staff and students in chemistry, physics, astronomy and engineering physics — to oversee the redistribution of prints and reserve materials and use of study space once the library’s doors close.

According to Leah Solla, physical sciences librarian and coordinator of the transition team, over 95 percent of the library’s collection has been dispersed within the Engineering, Mann, Math and Annex Libraries.

“The highest circulating portion, about half of the books, have been relocated to the Engineering, Mann and Mathematics Libraries according to subject synergies with the collections of these libraries,” Solla said.

The online library catalog details where PSL’s books are now relocated. “We have a number of handouts in the library, online guides are in the works and a basic chart of call numbers appears on the website now,” Solla said.

Reserves and certain reference items will remain in Clark Hall during the study and final exam periods. Also, the book-drop will remain open until noon on Dec. 23 for returns. After that day all books must be returned at other libraries.

“I think closing the library is going to be a problem, especially for chemistry, physics and math students who come here to study,” Nitin Malik ’11 said. “I use the library as a study space since it’s so convenient.”

Recent updates on the library’s website have promised even more online access to critical resources through enhanced electronic subscriptions and book digitization once the library closes.

“With the transition to an electronic library, funding formerly for print materials and facility operations in the physical sciences is being re-purposed to acquire access to new electronic resources that have been on the wish list for the library for a number of years,” Solla said.

These resources include older issues of journals, electronic books and specialized databases such as the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Center Structural Database, the world repository of small-molecule crystal structures.

The library has been home to 155,000 volumes since its opening. According to Solla, when the decision to close the PSL was announced, 40,000 of the 70,000 volumes that were still in the library were journal volumes. Now these volumes are all at the Annex; 80 percent of them have also been acquired in electronic form. The remaining 30,000 volumes were books, 16,000 of which have been incorporated into the collections at Engineering, Mann or Math Libraries.

Once the PSL closes, the open space will be available for quiet study during the spring semester, but the University has not announced further plans. The library’s website stated that the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, which is responsible for managing this space, will make the final decision.

“It was good to have the library so close to Baker Hall, I would think especially for the chemistry students,” Hai Dong ’11 said.

Due to the closing, according to Solla, several library staff positions were eliminated, and most of these positions were part-time. No staff members have been laid off, but Solla said some staff have retired or quitted.

Librarians will continue working in Clark Hall in order to help with and clarify usage of reference, consultation, and instruction for faculty, staff and students.

“They’re doing a good job at keeping jobs for students who are working here,” Matt Lavengood ’13 said. Lavengood has already been assigned future shifts at the Engineering Library.