A coherent whole

The University of London has at no point recommended that the Warburg Institute’s unique collection be absorbed into Senate House Library (“Library saved from Nazis awaits its fate”, News, 19 June).

Under the university’s management over the past 70 years, the Warburg collection has grown substantially from the original 80,000 volumes to the 350,000 in the collection today. The last thing that the university wants is for this exceptional cultural resource to be merged or absorbed elsewhere.

The university is not seeking to challenge the validity of the 1944 deed of trust but is simply seeking guidance as to its meaning. The attorney general has indicated that a court hearing is his preferred course of action to clarify the deed, and the university respects this view.

Roger Kain
Dean and chief executive
School of Advanced Study, University of London