Save Dutch Egyptology and ANE studies

This collection, both in print media & artefacts, is one of the best & best accessible in the world. Let's not change this - we all know how this will end if we do. Thank you.

I am an alumni of Leiden University where I did my Ph.D. I fully and unconditionally support the petition to keep NINO separate as I can personally attest to the valuable contribution it makes t further research. Reorganization when it is not called for and just because some bureaucrat needs to justify hs/her position/salary is something which should NOT be part of a progressive university , which I believe is the very heart of Leiden. Sasha Verma

As the director of a graduate program in religious studies and editor of a new book series in which the superb first volume came from research and collaborations made possible by NINO I know the power of an independent Ancient Near Eastern research institute well. I therefore urge Leiden and the NINO board not to cripple the distinctive quality and excellence of your Institute by breaking it up or in any way redividing its administration. Seth Sanders Professor of Religious Studies UC Davis

continue an independent NINO

The vision of the NINO founders was an entity where the study of the Ancient Near East comes together in one everyday work space: library, collections, publications - and the scholars and students who know and care about them. This remains a fundamental strenght of ANE studies in Leiden, and one which sets it apart from most other universities. To unnecessarily dismantle this model would be an historic mistake.

NINO is one of the most important (and best) institutions for the study of ancient Egypt and the Near East in the world, and its library is outstanding. These proposed changes would be devastating, not just to the institution, but also to the wider fields it supports.

While more and more anstitutions, all over the world are trying to focusing on centralising their holdings in order to make them more accessible, the NINO's should be split up? Incredible and unacceptable! Think again, decision makers!

The NINO represents an extraordinary research institution, its dismission would be a cultural disaster and a grave mistake of the Dutch academic authorities, we Europeans wish that NINO and similar institutions are considered as invaluable resources for dialogue and knowledge

I can't believe that academic scholars in their right mind came up with this proposal. An integrated and independent NINO is an essential institution for the studies of Egyptology and the Ancient Near East. The open library managed by well-informed librarians provides a unique workspace for scholars and students. Colleagues all over the world admire this situation and envy us here. Without the NINO Leiden University will no longer have its internationally leading position in the fields of Egyptology and Ancient Near eastern Studies. The idea to dismantle and split up the collection of journals and books in an "old" and a "new" section on separate locations is simply stated crazy and almost criminal. Shame on those who want to sell this idea as "progress".

The Nino library has always been at the heart of Near Eastern Studies in Leiden and I feel that as an institute it is crucial for the continuation of academic studies in the Near East, both by national and international professional academics and independent scholars with a warm heart for the region.

Please support this deeply significant institute.

This should NOT happen!

NINO represents an invaluable resource for the study of the Ancient Near East, and its loss as an autonomous institution would be a terrible blow to international scholarship.

I assume the argument is that these changes will help the University to function more 'efficiently' and that the new Research School will lead to increased valorisation of Egyptological and ANE knowledge and broader interdisciplinary collaboration. While these are valid and important aspirations, my view is that you don't achieve them by breaking up this vital institution. The NINO provides Dutch Egyptology and ANE studies with the facilities and necessary resources to carry out substantive and informed research. Its collection and range of books and journals are second to none. Pulling this supportive and scholarly foundation from under Dutch Egyptology and ANE studies is only likely to put these fields in a worse position to contribute meaningfully to broader research agendas in the social sciences and the humanities.

9 years ago Featured

NINO's prestige and intellectual missions are a beacon of responsible enlightenment internationally. Diluting the automony and assets of NINO would be an irreversible act. And it would radically diminish the role of the Netherlands as a center of learnedness.

Please, save the great (NINO)

This seems as a unfortunate suggestion which would do better not being realised, since it may endanger NINO's leading position in its fields of study.

NINO is vital for the study of Egyptology and the Ancient Near East in The Netherlands and worldwide. Numerous examples from elsewhere show that the proposed changes will lead to budget cuts, which will undermine NINO’s worldwide acclaimed position and jeopardise the future of Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in The Netherlands. As a daily user of the NINO I am staggered by the arrogance of the Board of NINO and Leiden University, who take drastic decisions without consulting NINO staff and researchers, whose daily work depends on this fantastic institute. I find it especially appalling that this horrible plan has been cooked up by a number of people who thank their own scholarly career to NINO. Now that they are retired they intend to demolish the institute and with that deprive younger generations of scholars of this indispensable institute. Hands off from NINO!!!

To take away the independence and dispersing the research facilities - such as a the library and collection, of a successful institute that has proven its level of excellence and can be placed among the best of its kinds around the world, seems utterly nonsensical, and ultimately counterproductive. Surely the University of Leiden should be proud of this institute and strengthen it for the future, rather than endanger it, as the drafted plans presented in this petition would no doubt do.

This - seemingly logical reorganisation - will destroy the international reputation of Dutch scholarship and contribution in the fields of research covered by the NINO. I am sorry to watch how knowledge and wisdom goes under.