World Library and Information Congress, Milan, 2009 - IFLA

Figure 9. Fifty years of the Ramallah Public
Library.
Figure 10. Ghassan Ziadeh at the ABF Congress.
Gaza Strip. Unemployment, business closures
due to the closure of outlets or the confi scation
of land, production tools or natural resources
like water, delays in paying salaries, shortages
and privations of all sorts, fear of incessant incursions
and everywhere the Israeli army can
make a library development project totally
Libraries in Palestine
derisory. But the thirst for knowledge, thirst for
communication and openness, the excellent level
of primary and secondary education, the number
of students in universities, excellent command of
ICT development make this a necessary and
indispensable tool for the attainment of independence
and development.
Other more sensitive diffi culties to be understood
are inherent in the chaotic history of Palestinian
society, a history which strengthens the weight
of traditional structures, political divisions, and
does not promote either the habits and development
of exchange structures or partnership.
To which may be added to the multitude of external
infl uences exerted by NGOs and bilateral
cooperation agreements with foreign states
or regional organizations from whom, rightly,
each benefi ciary seeks to maintain the benefi ts,
and which are a priori bearers of cohesion and
coordination. These agreements or programs are
not always assured of monitoring and only rarely
present proposals for long term projects. Not to
mention the particular phenomenon of the refugee
camps where 32 percent of the population live,
and their management by the UN agencies, which
must be taken into account in any effort at sharing
and centralization of services.
Hopes and diffi culties must, however, reinforce
our commitment to partnership. And because librarians
are professionals in the exchange and
dissemination of knowledge, is it not in the most
diffi cult and painful contexts that the solidarity
of the international library community must be
exercised?
Acknowledgment
This paper was originally published as ‘Les
Bibliothèques en Palestine’ in Bibliothèque(s) –
Revue de l’Association des Bibliothécaires de
France, no. 45, juillet 2009, 67–74 and is here
translated with kind permission of the Editor,
Philippe Levreaud and the author, Françoise
Lebvre-Danset. English translation by Stephen
Parker with support from Google Translate.
References
1. Sources: Etude du British Council, Communication
IFLA 2000, Programme ministère de la Culture,
Le programme de développement de la LP dans
le Gouvernorat de Bethlehem, Mission Cobiac,
Convention CG 13, Programme et réalisation,
Programme UE.
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