Hyperlinked Environment

I want to preface this blog post with the fact that I have no affiliation with international conflicts present or past. I have no religious connection, nor do I have the experience or education to form a informed political opinion. I am simply sharing information that caught my attention.

First, let me quickly describe the path I took to write this blog.

I work and live in a very tiny, insulated community with very little resources. The idea and concept of libraries globally and their missions and the physical/virtual/theoretical manifestations of those missions intrigues me. It is with that mindset that I chose to focus on international libraries for the Hyperlinked Environments Chose Your On Adventure module.

I read the articles touting all the wonderful things that international libraries are doing and have accomplished. However, the article that caught my attention the most was “Revisit: Biblioteca Vasconselos” (Carr, 2019). The opening paragraphs of this article essentially laid out the negative aspects of this library juxtaposed with the author’s rose-colored glasses hope. It was the sentence that read “Despite the success of the library . . . it has become ‘more a meeting place’ than a place for dedicated pursuit of knowledge” that spiraled my thinking.

What are libraries after all if not a meeting place?

The idea that libraries are meeting places and places dedicated to pursuit of knowledge led me to think about people who visit libraries for both versus one or the other. My brain then jumped to people who visit libraries because they are recent transplants from a different place looking for information that ranges from ESL classes to local community organizations specially created for transplanted people that meet in the library space. My thoughts then turned to refugees and the article “Refugees Supported by Public Libraries In Europe – Public Libraries Online” (Pyatesky, 2015).

And that is when I fell down the rabbit hole. . .

The Pyatesky article described library services for refugees from the Syrian Civil War which was nearly a decade ago. How do those services compare to current conflicts and refugees in particular the refugees in the Middle East and Ukraine.

What I found was not what I was expecting to find.

I should not have been shocked to discover that buildings such as libraries were being destroyed, but I was (my own rose-colored glasses).

Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024

THE ROLE OF UKRAINIAN LIBRARIES IN PRESERVING CULTURAL HERITAGE DURING W

ARTIME

Czech Libraries Assist Ukrainian Refugees

Monitoring Cultural Heritage Losses in Gaza

The purposeful targeting of libraries and other culturally significant institutions (hospitals, schools, churches) is beyond comprehension. The loss of the history and knowledge that those buildings house is, of course, immeasurable. I cannot adequately put into words the present daily loss to individuals in those situations that destroyed libraries could provide to them. I do not think saying that the preservation of libraries could be the difference between life and death is overstating.

References

Carr, L. (2019, July 1.) Revisit: Biblioteca Vasconcelos.  The Architectural Review. https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/revisit-biblioteca-vasconcelos

Gosart, U., & Diadyk, L. (2023, August). The role of Ukrainian libraries in preserving cultural heritage during wartime. IFLA Repository. https://repository.ifla.org/bitstream/123456789/2753/2/s19-2023-Gosart-Diadyk-en.pdf

Gosart, U., & Fu, R. (2024, March 08). Why suppression of libraries corrupts a nation | Backtalk. Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/why-suppression-of-libraries-corrupts-a-nation-backtalk

IFLA. Czech libraries assist Ukrainian refugees. (2024, June 26). IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/news/czech-libraries-assist-ukrainian-refugees/

IFLA. (2024, June 26). Monitoring cultural heritage losses in Gaza. IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/news/monitoring-cultural-heritage-losses-in-gaza/

Librarians and Archivist with Palestine. (n.d.). Israeli damage to archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024 – Librarians and archivists with Palestine.  https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/

Pyatetsky, J. (2015, November 24). Refugees supported by public libraries in Europe. (2015, November 24). Public Libraries Online. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/11/refugees-supported-by-public-libraries-in-europe/