Duke cut librarians. It never told the faculty they worked with – The Duke Chronicle
Features
Duke cut librarians. It never told the faculty they worked with
Features
Duke cut librarians. It never told the faculty they worked with
By Lucas Lin, Sept. 2, 2025, 8:23 p.m.
When faculty returned to campus this fall, some found their subject librarians were no longer with them.
The personnel cuts had not been communicated to or discussed with faculty in advance. Members of the Library Council, which serves as a liaison between Duke University Libraries (DUL) and faculty, said they were also left out of the loop.
Thirty-three of the more than 200 full time library staff members accepted offers from Duke’s voluntary separation incentive program (VSIP), prompting their departure from the University over the summer. Their absences leave the future of a key aspect of academic support and research at the University uncertain.
It all began at DUL’s monthly open forum in April, where Duke’s leadership announced it would slash more than $3 million in funding for libraries through staff cuts and reductions in the collections budget, according to a July 4 email from Joseph Salem, vice provost for library affairs, to DUL staff. The move was part of the institution’s larger strategic realignment and cost-cutting process.
In early May, 35 librarians were offered VSIPs and given 45 days to decide whether to accept. Those who did received financial compensation and health care coverage in exchange for a three-year separation from the University.
DUL faced other major changes including reductions in training and instruction sessions, increased turnaround time for reference and digitization requests and limited capacity of meeting and events spaces in the libraries.
“While these changes are unavoidable and necessary, they will inevitably reduce the level of some library services for Duke students and faculty. Activities and initiatives that were possible in the past may not be feasible now,” the Provost’s Office wrote in an Aug. 15 email to Duke faculty.
‘Unprecedented and unheard of’
Kata Gellen, director of the Center for Jewish Studies, heard rumors that DUL was subject to serious staff cuts but did not know that Rachel Ariel, the former Jewish studies librarian and liaison to the center, received a VSIP until Ariel personally reached out over the summer.
Per Gellen, Duke never informed her about her close collaborator’s VSIP.
Ariel had been instrumental in collecting and archiving materials in Hebrew and other languages to build the Jewish Study Collections. Now that Ariel and other subject specialist librarians have left, Gellen noted that their departure may leave significant “linguistic holes” as scholars, students and faculty may find it difficult to conduct research and maintain the University’s rich collections.
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