A Madame la Maire de Paris, Anne Hidalgo
Nous, les soussignés, chercheuses et chercheurs australiens dans le domaine de l’histoire des femmes, membres des Melbourne et Sydney Feminist History Groups, qui rassemblent les spécialistes en histoire des femmes des universités de Melbourne et de Sydney, nous avons pris connaissance des menaces qui pèsent sur la Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand (BMD). Cette bibliothèque municipale de la Ville de Paris spécialisée dans l’histoire des femmes, fondée en 1932 grâce au don de Marguerite Durand, devra bientôt quitter le bâtiment qu’elle occupe depuis 1989.
Nous sommes, toutes et tous, profondément conscient(e)s de l’importance mondiale de la BMD comme dépôt d’archives et lieu de recherche. Nous tenons à vous exprimer, respectueusement mais fermement, notre opposition à toute diminution de l’espace ainsi que du rôle de la BMD.
Vos services proposent que la BMD soit hébergée par la Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris (BHVP). Or la BHVP n’a plus suffisamment de place pour ses propres collections et devra, elle aussi, être mieux soutenue par vos services que ce n’est le cas. Inévitablement, donc les collections de la BMD (2 km linéaires) seront donc stockées dans des magasins extérieurs, en un lieu non précisé, et leur accès sera limité par les contraintes de temps et de transport. En plus, la BMD n’aura plus de salle de lecture propre et son personnel sera de fait mutualisé avec celui de la BHVP.
Cela aura deux conséquences négatives pour les chercheurs en histoire des femmes. D’une part, nous, chercheuses et chercheurs étranger(e)s dépendons pour beaucoup des connaissances spécialisées du personnel de la BMD. Sans cette aide, nous serions confrontés à des obstacles majeurs dans la recherche. D’autre part, nous souhaitons, nous exigeons que soit maintenue la BMD comme lieu de dépôt des archives des femmes. La BMD a joué depuis plus de trois quarts de siècle un rôle clé pour le maintien des archives féministes, dont l’importance devient de plus en plus claire. Si la fonction de lieu de recherche et d’archives spécialisées est perdue, la BMD ne recueillera plus d’archives et une source cruciale pour l’histoire se tarira.
Nous soutenons le collectif « Sauvons la BMD ! » (lancé par l’association Archives du féminisme, avec le soutien de tous les syndicats concernés) et nous demandons que la Mairie de Paris propose à la bibliothèque Marguerite Durand un nouvel espace offrant une véritable visibilité, des conditions de fonctionnement dignes, et la possibililité de futurs enrichissements.
Traduction anglaise
To the Mayor of Paris, Mme Anne Hidalgo
We the undersigned, researchers in the field of women’s history, members of the Melbourne and Sydney Feminist History Groups, which bring together specialists in women’s history from the universities of Melbourne and Sydney, have taken note of the threat hanging over the Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand (BMD), a library of the City of Paris specialising in women’s history, founded in 1932 thanks to a donation from Marguerite Durand, will be forced to leave the building which it has occupied since 1989.
We are all profoundly aware of the worldwide significance of the BMD as an archive and as a research centre. We are compelled to express to you, respectfully but urgently, our opposition to any diminution of the space for as well as of the role of the BMD.
Your services propose that the BMD be relocated within the Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris (BHVP). But the BHVP does not have adequate space for its own collections and indeed deserves better treatment from your services than it has received to date. It is thus inevitable that the collections of the BMD will be housed outside the BHVP, still to be specified, and their access will be limited by time and transport constraints. Worse, the BMD will no longer have its own reading room and its personnel will be fused with that of the BHVP.
That carries a dual threat for researchers in women’s history. On the one hand, we, as foreign researchers, depend enormously on the specialised knowledge of the personnel of the BMD. Without their aid, we would confront major obstacles to our research. On the other hand, we desire, we demand that the BMD be maintained as an archive for the deposit of women’s papers. For over three quarters of a century, the BMD has played a key role in the safeguarding of feminist archives, whose importance becomes clearer with each passing day. If its function as a research centre and a specialised archive is lost, the BMD will no longer receive papers and a crucial source of history will be lost.
We support the collective “Sauvons la BMD!” (sponsored by the Association Archives du féminisme and supported by the relevant unions), and we demand that the City of Paris propose a new space for the BMD offering real visibility, acceptable conditions for its operations, and the future deposit of papers.
Signataires
Dr Georgina Arnott, Research Associate, School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, Monash University
Ms Coralie Crocker, Centre for Women’s Studies, MA Monash, Retired
Dr Joy Damousi, FAHA, ARC Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Fellow and Professor of History, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. University of Melbourne
Ms Portia Kathleen Dilena, Ph.D candidate, School of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University
Dr Susan Foley, FAHA, Principal Fellow et Associate Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne
Dr Kelly Gardiner, Lecturer, Creative & Professional Writing, Department of Creative Arts and English, La Trobe University
Dr Ann Genovese, Associate Professor, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne
Dr Katie Holmes, FAHA, Director, Centre for the Study of the Inland, and Professor, Department of Archaeology and History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University
Dr Adrian Jones, Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology and History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University
Dr James Keating, Chargé de cours, University of Notre Dame; Research Assistant, University of New South Wales
Dr Hannah McCann, Lecturer in Gender Studies, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne
Mr Aaron Magro, PhD. Candidate, Department of Archaeology & History, School of Humanities and Social Science, La Trobe University
Dr Helen Morgan, Senior Research Fellow, eScholarship Research Centre, The University of Melbourne; co-editor, The Australian Women’s Register; board member and director, Her Place Australian Women’s Heritage and Museum
Dr Nell Musgrove, Senior Lecturer in History, Australian Catholic University
Dr Charles Sowerwine, FAHA, Emeritus Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, and Professeur associé, Centre d’Histoire Culturelle, Université de Versailles-Saint Quentin en Yveline
Dr Kathleen Troup, Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne
Ms Nikita Vanderbyl, PhD Candidate, Department of Archaeology and History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University
Dr Clare Wright, Associate Professor of History, ARC Future Fellow, Principal Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology and History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, LaTrobe University
Dr Katie Wright, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University
Contact
Emeritus Professor Charles Sowerwine: c.sowerwine@gmail.com
(Photo: Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons / Libre pour usage commercial / Pas d’attribution requise)
