Environments connected in care

I chose to focus on international hyperlinked library environments, and I was left thinking about both physical and digital environments that capture, preserve, and materialize the intangibility, quantitative impacts of libraries as safe, nurturing learning places. This blog shares two very different examples in Denmark and Palestine where I see communities coming together digitally and in person to cultivate caring library environments.

Since Israel’s siege on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli bombs and missiles have destroyed 13 public libraries, 60% of educational infrastructure, and killed countless library and university workers, educators, and students (OHCR, 2024). In addition to the genocide inflicted on the people of Gaza, Israel is also undertaking what academics and human rights officials call “Scholasticide,” an intentional and systematic effort to destroy a people’s education system (OHCHR, 2024). The public information systems in Gaza have been completely razed, and with them precious archives, books, and public histories. As author Laila Houssein Moustafa states, related to the destruction of libraries in Gaza being more than just about the destruction of books: “Libraries are cultural repositories. They hold collective memory, preserve cultural heritage, showcase societal development and afford individuals the opportunity for learning and growth” (Moustafa, 2023). Libraries also historically played a significant role as public safe havens, like hospitals, from Israeli drones and missiles.

Amazingly, there are organizations and people internationally who are continuing the life of libraries through digital platforms and through protest. Librarians and Archivists with Palestine (LAP) is an international network of librarians, archivists, and information workers who are in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and work with partners in Palestine to ensure access to and safe keep library and information resources. In the current genocide/scholastacide taking place in Gaza, LAP has published reports on the state of destruction of libraries, universities, and cultural institutions, and grieved the tragic deaths of workers, students, educators, and patrons (LAB, 2024). They are also taking actions and an international reading campaign called “One Book, Many Communities” that seeks to introduce people to Palestinian literature, history, and fight for liberation (LAP). LAP is one of many examples of how we can connect digitally and act internationally around the horrific loss of life and libraries in Palestine. Those who are conducting this activism and stewardship are showing radical care for the memory of destroyed libraries and for the rich cultural and digital information base that Gazans and Palestinians continue to celebrate despite efforts of erasure.

In the module readings about international library environments, I was struck by the Impact Compass guide as an exciting, multi-purpose tool and methodology. I appreciate its effort to materially understand cultural production and impact in libraries through the 4 dimensions of haven (emotional impact), perspective (intellectual impact), creativity (creative impact) and community (social impact) (Seismonaut and Roskilde Central Library, 2021). Each of these dimensions allows librarians or researchers to investigate these less tangible impacts of a library environment and programs outside of metrics of attendance. It seems like conducting an evaluation or extended conversation using the Impact Compass can articulate the inherent value of libraries for users and break the narrative that libraries are just storage for books. I think that this value is only proved stronger by the context of Gaza’s libraries.

References

Librarians and archivists with Palestine. https://librarianswithpalestine.org

Librarians and archivists with Palestine. (2024, February). Israeli damage to archives, libraries, and museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024: a preliminary report from librarians and archivists with Palestine. https://librarianswithpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LAP-Gaza-Report-2024.pdf

Moustafa, L. H.. (2023, December 12). Opinion: When libraries like Gaza’s are destroyed, what’s lost is far more than books. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-12-12/gaza-library-bombing

OHCHR. (2024,18 April). UN experts deeply concerned over ‘scholasticide’ in Gaza [Press release]. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza#:~:text=At%20least%2060%20per%20cent,have%20no%20access%20to%20education.

Seismonaut and Roskilde Central Library. (2021). A guide to the Impact Compass. The impact of libraries in Denmark: a haven in our community. https://www.roskildebib.dk/sites/roskilde.ddbcms.dk/files/files/news/en_brugsguide_06.05.21_0.pdf