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70 DECEMBER 2018 / I N - D E P T H / materials, as well as the ability to bring materials from Rowley to Salem with advance notice. PEM's position is that the library collection is now being stored in the best possible conditions and that it is more accessible than ever before. "e scale of this undertaking is immense, and the rewards are myriad," says John Childs, PEM's chief of collection services. "Researchers will be able to access the collection in its entirety, and they will be able to draw new connections and insights from the proximity of previously disparate collection areas." But the 700-member Friends of Phillips Library view the move in another light. In addition to the physical distance that now separates Salem residents from the collection, they are concerned that the Rowley reading room is not accessible by public transportation, which limits its availability to local students and residents as well as visiting scholars. In December 2017, the Friends started a #SavethePhillipsLibrary campaign advocating for the library's return to Salem. ey argue that the collection must be located in Salem in order for PEM to fulfill its mission "to inspire the public by fusing art, culture, and history in innovative ways." Among the voices calling for the library's return is that of Donna Seger, professor and chair of the History Department at Salem State University. "For over a hundred years, that library served as Salem's historical society," she says. "I'm John Child's is the chief of collection services at the PEM. PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED CHARNEY