Dear Colleagues
Recent postings on IFLA-L have shown that many of us are
increasingly concerned about the situation of libraries in Egypt and other
countries in the Middle East, particularly since the burning of the Egyptian
Scientific Institute of Cairo on December 17th. The FAIFE
committee shares these concerns and wishes to publicly state its support for
all Egyptian libraries, librarians and library users during this time of
tension, and reaffirm the principles of free access to information and freedom
of expression that are core values of the librarians worldwide. The committee
would ask the Egyptian authorities and, more broadly, the Egyptian people to
protect libraries from any damage and to create the conditions for librarians
to help serve their users who now, more than ever, need access to both
contemporary information and cultural heritage.
FAIFE
has paid particular attention to the experiences of librarians in the Middle
East in the past twelve months. A Spotlight by our Egyptian colleague Mahmoud
Khalifa, focused on
the use of information during the Arab Spring (http://www.ifla.org/en/publications/the-role-of-information-technology-in-defeating-the-arab-regimes-facebook-2-0-arab-pres). Former FAIFE Committee member Shawky Salem shared his
diary of the 18 days that proceeded the fall of the Mubarak government (http://www.ifla.org/en/news/exclusive-faife-committee-member-s-report-from-egypt). Both Shawky Salem and the Director of the Bibliotheca
Alexandrina, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, spoke at the FAIFE session at the WLIC in
Puerto Rico where their presentations were very well received. Dr. Serageldin
himself made a statement on the IFLA website (where you can also find other news links regarding Egypt: http://www.ifla.org/en/news/statement-from-ismail-serageldin-director-of-the-library-of-alexandria-egypt).
Furthermore, IFLA, in its role as a member of the International Committee of
the Blue Shield, spoke out against the destruction of cultural institutions
such as libraries through statements on both Egypt (http://www.ifla.org/en/news/blue-shield-statement-on-egypt)
and Libya (http://www.ifla.org/en/news/blue-shield-statement-on-libya). At present IFLA, along with other Blue Shield members
such as the International Council on Archives (ICA) and the international
Council of Museums (ICOM), and UNESCO, is participating in discussions
regarding the safeguarding of cultural heritage in Yemen and Syria. We work as
hard as we can with our partners on these issues to share resources,
information and expertise.
Nevertheless, if the sad events
of December 17th tell us anything, it is that cultural
disasters that involve libraries, whether they are pre-mediated or accidental,
are sadly still common, and that institutions can often become victims of
societal unrest quite out of the blue. We are now working with our colleagues
in the Blue Shield, along with the staff of our regional office in the
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, to gather more information on the unfolding situation,
and will endeavour to report back to IFLA-L when we have a better idea of the
extent of the damage at the Egyptian Scientific Institute and other
institutions caught up in the turmoil. In the meantime, I refer you to Danielle
Mincio from the Preservation and Conservation’s excellent post on the situation
which was previously sent to the IFLA-L list.
Yours Sincerely,
Kai Ekholm, FAIFE Chair
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