The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 73/No. 45      November 23, 2009

 
Cuban library head
speaks at N.Y. meeting
 
BY BEN JOYCE  
NEW YORK—As many city governments across the United States are cutting back on resources for schools and libraries in the face of the capitalist crisis, Cuba is exploring ways to expand access to education and culture. Some 50 people heard Eduardo Torres Cuevas, director of Cuba’s José Martí National Library, describe advances in the national library system at a November 6 meeting held here at Hunter College.

The meeting was sponsored by the Library Association of the City University of New York’s International Relations Roundtable; the Northeast chapter of Reforma, an association that promotes library services to Latinos; and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies. The event drew mostly academics but several students also attended and participated in the discussion.

Based in Havana, the José Martí National Library was founded in 1901. After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the revolutionary leadership mobilized working people to expand access to education and culture beginning with a massive literacy campaign in 1961, where some 100,000 Cubans participated in the effort that taught nearly one million workers and peasants to read and write. Since then, the place of education has been a central priority.

Torres Cuevas described some features and services the library offers. Access for the disabled is provided in the “Sala ‘Frank Emilio’” where those with vision and other disabilities can get one-on-one help using library services. A facility for youth promotes reading and learning among young children.

During his presentation Torres Cuevas mentioned some initiatives being taken to advance the library today. A recent accomplishment he mentioned was the process of archiving major sections of the library into digital and microfilm formats in order to minimize the impact of physical deterioration. He said the library has recently added several hundred computers to the system nationwide.

During the discussion a student who was originally from the Dominican Republic asked about collaboration with other libraries in Latin America. Torres Cuevas responded that there are several countries the Cuban library system collaborates with, citing a project in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where Cuban librarians are helping develop a major library.

Also in the audience was New York librarian Robert Kent. Kent is well known for organizing a group called The Friends of Cuban Libraries, an organization funded by the U.S. government, which claims that libraries in Cuba censor materials and persecute so-called independent librarians.

In the discussion Kent raised his slander against the Cuban libraries and distributed a flier claiming the Cuban government burns books such as George Orwell’s 1984.

In response to Kent’s accusations, Torres Cuevas showed an image of the cover of the Spanish-language edition of 1984 with the Cuban library catalogue number displayed on the spine. After one participant defended Cuba’s system against Kent’s slanders, discussion shifted back to the topic of the library’s achievements.
 
 
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