A library is more than a house of books. A library is a place of knowledge and learning, a place where ideas are accessed, be that from books, librarians, our laptops, and (quietly) from classmates. We understand that books and articles especially for academic research are increasingly available online, thus diminishing the need for physical books, and are not lamenting that technological progress. However, we do take issue with that fact that as the clients of the GSPIA/Economics library, as its major stakeholders, we were in no way consulted before the decision to close it was made. The library is an asset that every student at GSPIA is losing. While we may not mind going to Hillman to simply check out a book, we do have a serious problem with our reserve textbooks being held there. Putting our textbooks on reserve at Hillman Library will force us to use them and study in an environment that is completely unappealing to graduate students. Hillman is full of loud undergraduate students, and being thrown in with them for our academic research negatively affects our productivity and our esteem as a highly ranked school of public and international affairs. We the below signed, feel that as GSPIA and Economics students we are losing a very valuable asset and rightfully deserve a comparable compensation that addresses our need for an acceptable study center and a suitable reserve book system. Thus we respectfully but vehemently request that the University of Pittsburgh take our concerns seriously and make efforts to coordinate with us on this matter.