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REVERSING THE DECISION TO CLOSE THE LIBRARY AT THE ST.ANDREWS BIOLOGICAL STATION (SABS, DFO), ST. ANDREWS, NB. I am writing to you to request three actions pertaining to maintaining St. Andrews, NB, as a leading marine fisheries and aquatic sciences hub in Canada: (1) Reconsider and reverse the decision to close the Marine Science Library at the Biological Station, St Andrews NB; (2) Reverse the decision on job layoffs and give the affected highly trained information professionals back their positions; and (3) Move towards developing and implementing a policy of running the Library with other groups in the St. Andrews community, especially the Huntsman Marine Science Centre (HMSC). I am a former Environment Canada marine scientist, now located at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. I started my career at St. Andrews in 1969, conducted my doctoral studies there until 1974, maintained connections through various research interests and Board of Director activities with both SABS and the HMSC, and most recently was involved in the 100th Anniversary celebrations of SABS in 2008. While a graduate student at Huntsman and SABS (in pre PC and Google times), I relied heavily upon the resources of the Library and realized the value especially of their grey literature and archival materials to my research goals and data interpretation. My graduate work could not have been accomplished without Library support, a story I am certain is common for all researchers, young and old, who have studied and started their careers at St. Andrews. Importantly, while working on a contribution to the SABS Marine Science History Conference in 2008, now the computer and Google era, I was heavily dependent upon the Library and its trained information professionals to find materials crucial to writing a historical overview of some of the scientific contributions of SABS (a work in press with the University of Toronto Press). This work renewed a deep appreciation of the value of the SABS Library information holdings. This is information that is not digitized and likely never will be, information that has value primarily at the SABS location, information of inestimable value to new researchers at SABS and HMSC, information critical to science historians, and information that if distributed and lost would be a profound loss to the marine science community in Canada and the global ocean commons. On this point, it appears that DFO, in making the decision to cut back on its libraries and the SABS one in particular, is relying solely on information presented to them by Ottawa staff in information management, following the DFO Library Collection Development and Management Policy. This policy is fundamentally flawed in that it does not take into account the full functions of a marine science library to the health and vitality of the research institute, and the needs of its scientists, as well as not understanding how a scientific research library functions and what it is truly worth. In the absence of a defensible audit, the closure is based on the premise that reducing the number of research libraries will be a cost-saving for the department. What is not considered is the total value of the Library to the research productivity of the science community, and in the case of St. Andrews, the whole community of private citizens, local resource industries, the universities and colleges, and the new Aquarium and Discovery Centre at HMSC. I believe its value far exceeds the cost of its conduct. Hence, in my opinion, the SABS Library closure is indefensible, undemocratic, an unlawful act of information destruction, an action highly damaging to the local economy, and a major setback to regional marine science and to Canada's reputation in the ocean's sector internationally. The decision to close the Library and lay off staff should be reviewed and reversed, without delay. The Library could be run by a joint community group and this option should be considered as an immediate priority. The alternative is continued and more visible protests on this issue, costly economic impacts in the region, and further erosion of Canada's reputation in the ocean science field. DFO's actions on this issue, one way or the other, will be noted in the polls and by future generations of Canadians. Please reconsider - make the right decision and keep the SABS Library in St. Andrews. Yours sincerely, Peter Wells P. G. Wells, Ph.D., FAAAS. (1) Conservation and Protection, Environment Canada (retired). (2) Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Management and International Ocean Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS. (3) Former Member, Board of Directors, HMSC, St Andrews, NB. (4) Member and Past Chair, Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership. (5) Canadian Co-Chair, Gulfwatch Contaminants Monitoring Sub-Committee, and Member, Working Group, Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment. (6) Former Member and Chair, United Nations Joint Group of Experts on Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection, International Maritime Organization, London..