Here's an interesting piece of email my wife received today - looks like it was sent to all students at university of Washington.

Subject: Update on the Closure of the Physics and Astronomy Reading Room

Hello Huskies,

As of June 13, 2014, the Physics and Astronomy Reading Room will be replaced with a new Data Science Studio funded by a $37.8 million grant. You can see the University's statement about the initiative here.

This change has been met with some significant opposition by students that used the space for studying and its various texts and stacks, so we decided to do some of our own research into it.
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Our latest 60 seconds at the President's Desk describes the change, what it means for students and our efforts on it.

From our research, it appears that the library will no longer be as secluded or quiet, but the more active Data Science Studio will provide greater access for students through increased operational hours and more group studying areas.

Although there are no new closures of departmental libraries planned, our role in this process is to ensure that student input is better considered in any further discussions about re-purposed space. We're currently working on developing the best mechanisms for input in those decisions and welcome your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Michael Kutz | President
Associated Students of the University of Washington
[email protected]