The J.M. Péridier Library: Its Past, Present, and Future

The closure of small departmental and branch libraries is all too common, but when closures are approached from the standpoint of understanding departmental constraints, needs, and improvements to service, a library closure can provide many opportunities. This paper presents the evolution of the J.M. Péridier Library at the University of Texas as its space and services have evolved to meet the needs of the UT Department of Astronomy and of McDonald Observatory. It will briefly outline the history of the Péridier Library, including how the original collection came to UT, before discussing the decision to transform the library’s physical space into a new undergraduate computer lab and to combine the Péridier’s print collection with the Kuehne Physics, Mathematics & Astronomy Library. The result of this decision is increased access to the Péridier collection—both recent publications and the historical French library from the observatory at Le Houga, France—by bringing them into the robust infrastructure of the UT Libraries, as well as increased access for undergraduate students to computers built and configured to do high-level astronomical research. It will share lessons learned and best practices from the process, and discuss how it has enabled the re-negotiation of the librarian role in supporting research in astronomy at UT in the 21st century.