I sent my letter in to the RBL and SBL last night. Thank you so much to everyone who read it and shared it. I am especially grateful to folks like Rebecca Lesses, Chuck Jones, Fred Tappenden and others who added information, suggestions, and corrections.
I know from Twitter and Facebook that many more people have emailed, as well. They’ve raised concerns about libraries who catalogue RBL reviews, independent scholars and contingent faculty who sometimes can’t afford the SBL membership, and the global community of scholars, clergy, and lay people who read the reviews to keep up with scholarship to which they otherwise do not have access.
Two members of the SBL governing board have replied to my email. I understand they will be discussing all our feedback about this policy next week. I’ll let you know if I hear more, and I hope you’ll do the same.
