The Pearse Memorial Library at the Duke University Marine Lab is set to close its doors this summer, and its primary librarian will transition to a new role focused on supporting the University’s Climate Commitment.
The Beaufort library is set to close July 1, and the materials held in its physical collections will be moved to off-site storage by the start of fall 2025, per a Tuesday email to faculty, staff and students in the Nicholas School of the Environment from Joseph Salem, Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University librarian and vice provost for library affairs.
The closure was “hastened” due to the “threat of significantly decreased federal funding support for Duke’s research and teaching mission,” Salem wrote. However, those involved in the decision foresaw the facility’s eventual closure, pointing to its physical deterioration and need to adapt to an increasingly digitized academic environment.
Salem stressed that there would be “no interruption or reduction in the essential library services and resources the Marine Lab community relies on.” These include material deliveries from the University’s Durham campus or through interlibrary loans, in-person and virtual research instruction and consultations, as well as additional community “outreach and engagement” by a librarian “embedded” on site.
That librarian is Jodi Psoter, head of the Marine Lab library and librarian for marine science. In her new position as the “climate and sustainability strategist and librarian for marine science and conservation,” Psoter will continue to live and work in Beaufort but will also take on more responsibilities in Durham in service of research associated with the Climate Commitment.
While Salem acknowledged that the closure was a “difficult decision,” he noted that the library’s future had been an “open question” since he arrived at Duke in 2022.
The library, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of its dedication last year, has deteriorated over time. Its location on the coast means the facility has faced additional wear and tear from the elements — notably wind and salt — and Salem wrote in the email that problems with the HVAC system in particular “threaten the long-term usability” of its collections.
But outside of concerns over the physical space’s viability, the library’s purpose has also shifted away from its original intent over the years.
Today, the library primarily serves as a gathering space for students to study or interact socially, according to Psoter.
She explained that scholarly journals and government documents — which constitute many of those on-site items — are increasingly digitized, reducing the need for a space to store physical copies. Salem corroborated her account, noting that in fiscal year 2024, only 234 items were checked out of the library’s collection — roughly half of which he described as “popular and leisure reading.”
“How students use libraries, and more importantly, how students do research has changed,” Psoter said. “How faculty do research has changed. How researchers use information has changed.”
Although Salem and Psoter believe the decision is the right one for Duke, they acknowledged that the library’s closure will still be felt by many in Duke’s Beaufort community.
“We are disappointed that, after more than a half-century of support for the research and educational missions of the Duke Marine Lab, the Pearse Library will close this summer,” wrote Andy Read, Steven A. Toth distinguished professor of marine biology in the Nicholas School of the Environment and director of the Marine Lab, in a Wednesday email to The Chronicle. “… But we recognize that the function of libraries has changed in the modern digital era, and are very glad that the library services, on which we all depend, will continue in an uninterrupted manner.”
He added that a committee of faculty, staff and students will be convened to “make recommendations about the future use of the library space” and that it will be available to students during both summer terms.
Despite “showing its age,” Read expressed his belief that the building “will continue to be a serviceable space for the coming decades.” Still, Salem wrote in the original email that sunsetting the library was already “likely to happen in the coming years,” noting that the timeline had been accelerated by threats to federal research funding.
Last month, University administrators announced plans to implement a series of cost-cutting measures to lessen the impact of expected federal funding reductions. In line with this goal, Salem explained that alongside other University departments and programs, Duke’s library system is evaluating its priorities to see where it can lower expenses and support the institution’s most pressing needs.
At the Marine Lab, Salem believes that means closing a facility approaching a state of disrepair and removing collections that see little use, while preserving the most vital component of the research operation it supports: Psoter herself.
“Jodi has made it a welcoming environment, and the community there is so strong,” Salem said, also praising her skills as a “hardcore science librarian.”
He and others involved in the decision to close the library think Psoter will be able to better support Marine Lab researchers’ needs in her new position, where she will not bear “the additional responsibilities of single-handedly managing a physical library space.”
“Our hope is that by keeping Jodi engaged with the campus but deemphasizing the physical space, [researchers at the Marine Lab are] going to get their highest priority needs [met] in that partnership from her,” Salem said.
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As another motivating factor for the decision, Salem identified the Climate Commitment as one of few strategic priorities for the University that does not have a lead librarian to assist with research. Psoter will meet that need without requiring Duke to allocate additional funds to support an entirely new role.
“In those situations where you can’t grow or just build, you have to think about how best to steward your resources, the University’s resources at the end of the day,” Salem said. “And so the real consideration was … how do we meet this huge strategic need for the University within our current staffing?”
Salem noted in the Tuesday email that a “farewell reception” will be scheduled sometime before the closure.
Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.