LISNews: Librarian News

Friends of Cuban Libraries writes "Nat Hentoff has issued a new blast in the Village Voice (http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0507,hentoff,610 76,6.html) entitled 'Freedom to Read: A New Movement to Send a Caravan of Uncensored Books to the People of Cuba.' An excerpt:The letters to Castro from American librarians - who cannot understand why their national governing [ALA] council has abandoned their fellow librarians in Cuba - have not been answered. And one... U.S. public library, in Vermillion, South Dakota, has sponsored and begun to send books to a sister independent library in Havana.... This reverberating act of simple decency was begun by one person, Mark Wetmore..... Wetmore keeps on keeping on. He has now written a guide, 'Sponsoring an Independent Cuban Library,' that lays out 'the steps a library board in this country' can take to join the freedom caravan...."

Kent writes "Following upon similar recent actions taken by organizations in Poland and
Latvia, the national association of Czech librarians has condemned the
persecution of library colleagues in Cuba. Since 1998, approximately 250 independent
libraries have been established throughout Cuba in an innovative challenge to
government control of information. Many of the uncensored libraries have been
raided by the Cuban secret police, their books have been seized or burned, and
about 15 of the independent librarians are serving lengthy prison terms. All of
the jailed librarians have been named as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty
International, which is demanding their immediate release. -- Read More

Robert Kent writes "

PRESS RELEASE
The Friends of Cuban Librarians
Dec. 15, 2004

Contact: Robert Kent
Phone: 718-305-9201
E-mail: rkent20551@cs.com
Website: (www.friendsofcubanlibrarians.org)

NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2004 (Friends of Cuban Libraries)- The Polish Librarians Association has issued an "Appeal for Cuban Librarians" calling for the release of their Cuban colleagues imprisoned during the Castro regime's 2003 crackdown on dissidents and human rights activists. In a message to the Friends of Cuban Libraries, Piotr Bierczynski, the Vice Chair of the Polish Librarians Association, wrote: "We would like to ask you to acquaint everyone interested in the ending of persecution of the Cuban librarians with our appeal."

Below is the text of the Polish appeal, which marks a new stage in the worldwide campaign to win the freedom of the brave people in Cuba who are enduring persecution because of their innovative effort to defend intellectual freedom, the most cherished principle of librarians.

(Continued) -- Read More

Friends of Cuban Libraries writes "From Nat Hentoff's new article: 'Because I have joined a growing number of American librarians who strongly disagree with the [ALA] governing Council's disinclination to offend the Cuban dictator, I have been targeted by Eliades Acosta, director of Cuba's National Library... Acosta asked accusingly, "What does Mr. Hentoff know of the real Cuba?"'My answer to him: "I know that if I were a Cuban, I'd be in prison."'For the text of Nat Hentoff's article, refer to the Recent News section of www.friendsofcubanlibraries.org"