Wisconsin’s State Historical Society will not be bailed out of financial difficulty by UW-Madison, according to Chancellor John Wiley.

The society’s Board has voted to eliminate nearly 20 positions, mostly from the library, and will also reduce acquisitions in the library.

Due to vast financial problems, the board of curators has been considering seeking a partnership with the University Library System to help deal with the financial crisis.

At the Board of Regents meeting Thursday, Wiley told members that UW Administrators had received a “massive amount” of e-mails calling for UW to “do something to save the Historical Society library.”

But Wiley said the university is unable to help the Historical Society because of its own financial problems. Wiley said without additional resources, UW cannot accept the large financial responsibility.

“This is a problem we cannot solve by ourselves,” Wiley told the Regents.

Memorial Library Director Ken Frazier told the regents that the main library is in great shape but other libraries — such as Madison’s law library and UW-Milwaukee’s library — are having financial difficulties.

“UW libraries are in great shape, and the UW administration is working to protect the libraries in the next fiscal year if it possibly can,” Frazier told the board. “It’s a cliché to say the library is the heart of the university, it’s becoming more of a crossroads of the university.”