Radames Suarez wants us to know that the ongoing controversy regarding the ALA and oppressed librarians in Cuba has reached the pages of the Washington D.C. Examiner. An excerpt:
Librarians attending the American Library Association’s conference in Chicago this week will hear a speech from that great man of letters Henry Winkler (a.k.a. “The Fonz”). But a bigger story involves who won’t be appearing at the podium: Ramon Coles and Berta Mexidor, the co-founders of Cuba’s independent library movement.
The ALA claims they did not apply to be speakers through the proper channels. But critics say the group’s refusal to accommodate this brave husband-and-wife team is part of a broader hypocrisy on Cuba.
On Cuban Librarians and ALA
This sounds like a missed opportunity. I would think that regardless of the speakers not “going through channels,” ALA would have made an effort to accomodate such important speakers given the positions on intellectual freedom the organization supposedly holds. I am anticipating some ALA honcho will likely counter with some bureaucratic answer that will sound very official, but I think it is a missed opportunity. Hypocrisy? It does seem to at least beg the question.
Cuban Librarians & criminal US Government bloc
Please review the whole story.Read all links at this page.
http://www.ifla.org/faife/news/cubanappeal-open200 4.htm
Re:On Cuban Librarians and ALA
I bet if Michael Moore carted his planet of a self down there in the morning they would fawn all over him and give him the stage.
No Habla Freedom and Dissent
Let’s just have a nice little conference where anything that would cause a ruckus will be forcefully X-cluded.
Even the SRRTers were violently divided over whether or not these guys were librarians,and whether or not they were cooperating with the Bush administration to spread American propaganda, or if they truly were brave dissents in the cause of freedom of information…
Since the SRRTers were at each others throats over this issue…some other group could have invited them and paid all their expenses, and if ALA refused to allow them to speak in any ALA sponsored venue…well…have them speak at any other location in town that would provide free space.
This could all have been arranged…if someone had taken the action and gathered the support to do it.
BUT NO…that’s just too disruptive and would offend the ALA bureaucracy.
Re:Cuban Librarians & criminal US Government b
Does the ALA needs to be taught that “it isn’t nice to burn down libraries?”