Libraries in War Zones: a Very Swift Overview

presented by Anne BrittonSerials & Electronic Resources Cataloger,

Baker Library, Harvard Business School

email: abritton@hbs.edu

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1. Libraries are a target

2. Some library disasters are preventable

3. We can do much to aid libraries in international conflict zones

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4. When helping, seek to do no harm

5. Beware distortions in the news media

6. Think broadly

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National & University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo

destroyed in 1992

Source: Andras Riedlmayer. Killing Memory: Bosnia's Cultural Heritage and Its Destruction

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Dar al Kutub wa al Wathaiq&Maktabat al Awqaf,

Iraq

destroyed in 2003Source: MELA Committee on Iraqi Libraries

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"damnatio memoriae"

the eradication of all records of existence.

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Arenas of action

a. Collectingb. Preservationc. Planningd. Lobbyinge. Educationf. Developing the professiong. Restoration

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Arenas of action

a. Collectingb. Preservationc. Planningd. Lobbyinge. Educationf. Developing the professiong. Restoration

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Mekhitarist Library,

San Lazzaro, Venice,Italy

est. in 1717

Source: digilander.libero.it/ venexian/ita/monasteri.htm

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E. Gene Smith,Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center,

New York,New York

began ca.1968Source: Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center

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Linen Hall Library, Belfast, Northern Ireland

began collecting political ephemera in 1968Source: CAIN, University of Ulster

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Arenas of action

a. Collectingb. Preservationc. Planningd. Lobbyinge. Educationf. Developing the professiong. Restoration

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John Dean &Cornell University Library, Conservation Department

Conservation & Stabilization of Palm Leaf & Parabaik Manuscripts 1997Source: Cornell University Library, Department of Preservation and Collection Maintenance

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Afghanistan Digital Library

New York University

afghanistandl.nyu.edu

est. 2002

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Arenas of action

a. Collectingb. Preservationc. Planningd. Lobbyinge. Educationf. Developing the professiong. Restoration

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International Committee of the Blue Shield

www.ifla.org/blueshield.htm#1

est. 1996

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IFLA Core Activity on Preservation and Conservation

Safeguarding our Documentary Heritage

2000

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Arenas of action

a. Collectingb. Preservationc. Planningd. Lobbyinge. Educationf. Developing the professiong. Restoration

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1919Treaty of Versailles

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Arenas of action

a. Collectingb. Preservationc. Planningd. Lobbyinge. Educationf. Developing the professiong. Restoration

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Dar al Kutub wa al Wathaiq&Maktabat al Awqaf,

Iraq

2003

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Society of American Archivists

Iraqi Archives Links

www.archivists.org/news/iraqi_archives.asp

2003

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Arenas of action

a. Collectingb. Preservationc. Planningd. Lobbyinge. Educationf. Developing the professiong. Restoration

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Anne Morgan,

American Committee for Devastated France

est. 1917

Source: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute

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1. Libraries are a target2. Some library disasters are

preventable3. We can do much to aid libraries

in international conflict zones 4. When helping, seek to do no

harm5. Beware distortions in the news

media6. Think broadly

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Bibliotheca Alexandrina,

Alexandria,Egypt

inaugurated in 2002

Source: Bibliotheca Alexandrina

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Leuven City Library,Belgiumrebuilt 1921-1928&University Library,Louvain la Neuve,Belgiumest. 1968Source: Stad Leuven

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Additional resources

www.people.hbs.edu/abritton/war.html

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