It is known that the first targeted buildings in times of war are libraries. That is how millions of rare and valuable collections have disappeared, and with them, parts of the history of humanity. One can find information on the destruction of libraries and archives such as the Oriental Library in Shangai in 1934, the Naples State Archives in Germany in 1943, and the National and University Library in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. These stories impact us not only as librarians, but as people who value library collections, rare literary gems, and reading.
In the last two years, however, there have been two interesting stories in the news about librarians preserving their collections during armed conflicts. The first story is about Alia Muhammad Baker, a librarian in Basra, Iraq. This librarian knew she had a very special library collection, and when the war started in 2003, she decided to move, during the night, all the books to her house and friends’ homes to protect them. The second story is about Hirsie Mohamed Hirui, a librarian from Somalia who keeps his library open even though the majority of the buildings in the city have been closed due to the high level of violence. “When people read, they are not worried about anything”, Hirui says. These are two wonderful stories about strong people who are trying to make a difference in the middle of chaos.
Austin Public Library owns the children's book Librarian of Basra: a true story from Iraq
To know more about the Somali library we recommend the following link:
Chaos Can’t Shut Somali Library
In the last two years, however, there have been two interesting stories in the news about librarians preserving their collections during armed conflicts. The first story is about Alia Muhammad Baker, a librarian in Basra, Iraq. This librarian knew she had a very special library collection, and when the war started in 2003, she decided to move, during the night, all the books to her house and friends’ homes to protect them. The second story is about Hirsie Mohamed Hirui, a librarian from Somalia who keeps his library open even though the majority of the buildings in the city have been closed due to the high level of violence. “When people read, they are not worried about anything”, Hirui says. These are two wonderful stories about strong people who are trying to make a difference in the middle of chaos.
Austin Public Library owns the children's book Librarian of Basra: a true story from Iraq
To know more about the Somali library we recommend the following link:
Chaos Can’t Shut Somali Library
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