Save Dutch Egyptology and ANE studies

The NINO library is a vitally important resource for Assyriologists and ancient historians worldwide, one of the best libraries anywhere for people in those fields. Keep it intact and independent!

Keep NINO independent!

Egyptology and Assyriology in the Netherlands (and worldwide) are better served by an independent NINO. Proof is in the fact that these fields still flourish in Leiden after many years of fluctuations in national and local science policy, budget cuts in the humanities etc.

The plan to transform NINO into a research school of the university has been developed with hardly any involvement of the local staff of Assyriology and Egyptology, and is therefore not supported on the work floor. In the long run, the envisaged structure puts the continuation of both fields in Leiden in an extremely dangerous position - at a university that has already effected major cuts in them in the past years.

Too many universities are trying to use this ploy for cost cutting purposes and so-called “economic” reasons where none actually exist. Universities are fast becoming places of profit-making businesses instead of seats of serious learning. There is nothing to be gained by subsuming the study of Ancient Cultures and Languages, particularly those of the Ancient Near East (ANE) into bigger, “all-embracing” departments within the universities. Books, collections, ancient texts will be closeted in dark corners of libraries where they will be inaccessible, forgotten and eventually “lost”, thus removing them from the eyes of serious scholars of Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Without these departments being kept in existence, scholars will be unable to unearth and decipher what is, after all, the history of our present cultures. Artefacts may still reveal their secrets as technology improves to enable the re-scrutiny of texts and clay tablets to find meanings which have been missed previously. This would be a big mistake, as has been proved by the prevention of the closure of similar departments in other universities through the petitioning by scholars of these Ancient Cultures. Do NOT make this mistake because, once made, it cannot be reversed. You will regret it!

I hope that the Institute will be maintained. It carries out important and neccessary work in the region.

This is a vital international resource and it would be intellectual vandalism to follow through with the proposal.

Let's help NINO in carrying on with its activity

The independence of NINO is vital.

For the continuation of an integrated and independent management of NINO, in order to secure a long-term future of this centre of excellence for Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies.

This is an appalling idea and it can only hasten the death of Egyptological and ANE studies in the Netherlands. NINO is almost unique among similar institutions, where it’s often far from easy to consult the library’s contents. Please don’t do it.

stahp!

NINO is an excellent and outstanding research centre that must survive! Please keep the institute intact for future researches in the field of Near Eastern studies.

behoud een onafhankelijk nino, alleen dan kan het bijdragen tot de kwaliteit van die geplande letteren campus

Please keep this world renowned institute intact for future generations so that it can keep serving researchers from all over the world. Dissolving it will take away that what makes it worthwhile.

I support this petition! NINO is a valuable institute, not only for Dutch researchers and students in Egyptology and/or Ancient Near Eastern Studies, but for every one who is interested in these fields of study.

Nino is a very important research centre, which has a long successful history. It must survive!!!!!!!

Nino is an enormous added value for our disciplines and our fields of research. It has to be preserved and it must keep its indipendency

Again an unhealthy managerial tendency threatens to destroy the results of nearly a century's succes in supporting Dutch and international Oriental Studies (both ancient and modern!). Independency is vital for this institute, and its personnel and budget should be safeguarded. The NINO is one of the few institutes in the world where one can use an almost complete library without the cumbersome necessity to order books beforehand: just walk to the bookcases and grab the volume! Both foreign and Dutch researchers should be able to enjoy this facility into the far future!

I strongly support the petition. There is a lot of value to keep a collection such as the Said Ruete physically together!