ENERGY

BUILDING BRIDGES
Building Bridges with
Cuban Libraries
BY LYNN M. SHIREY
Since the beginning of the
U.S. trade embargo on Cuba
in the 1960s, the Harvard
Libraries have been unable to
purchase materials directly
from Cuban institutions, publishers
or booksellers. We rely
chiefly on vendors from thirdparty
countries—for example
Uruguay, Canada and Spain—
who make regular purchasing
trips for U.S. libraries. In
recent years, several small
U.S.-based vendors have been
able to do so as well.
We encourage Harvard students
on semester-long Study
Abroad trips (Harvard has
sent students to Cuba on an
exchange with the University
of Havana since Spring 2007)
to bring back books, posters
and other materials to donate
to the university libraries. Faculty
members who travel to
the island and visiting Cuban
researchers often collaborate
as well.
As the librarian for Latin
America, Spain and Portugal
at the Harvard Library (Widener),
I took advantage of a
recent trip to Cuba to renew
ties and agreements for academic
resource-sharing with
administrators and librarians
at Cuba’s leading research
institutions.
The Cuban government
subsidizes the great majority
of academic publications on
the island. That means that
many of those materials are
not available commercially:
thus personal contacts among
institutional staff remain
paramount. The Biblioteca
Nacional de Cuba José
Martí and the libraries of the
Universidad de La Habana
and the Casa de Las Américas
(research institute) all publish
essential materials on Cuban
history, politics, economics,
culture and education that
are only available through
exchange or as gifts (Cuban
institutions are very generous)!
I met with representatives
of all three institutions
and returned with a suitcase
full of books, publication
catalogues, and renewed
connections that should serve
Harvard Library’s users well.
Of course, researchers
of Cuba require collections
of non-academic materials
as well. Several large U.S.
research libraries, including
Harvard’s, collect posters,
printed ephemera, postcards,
photographs and film. Artists’
books are particularly interesting:
Ediciones La Vigía of
Matanzas has a long history
of fabricating works-of-artincluding-text
(or vice versa)
using artisanal and low-cost
techniques such as mimeograph
and Xerox, as well as
staples, brown paper and
found objects. Their recent
publication Pescador de eneros
(2015), by Rey Montalvo, is
printed on brown craft paper
and hand-bound in cardboard
that has a white string netting
and pieces of blue colored
fabric affixed to it. The cover,
which is made to look like a
variation of the Cuban flag,
also displays the image of a
guitar and the black silhouette
of a man playing the guitar.
The Casa Editora Cuadernos
Papiro (Holguín) also publishes
artists’ books like Orishas
en Cuba, a portfolio containing
six booklets with legends
of Afro-Cuban deities, printed
on paper made of recycled
fibers, and annotated: “Para
hacer el papel de este libro
no se dañó la naturaleza. Se
utilizó papel reciclado blanco
incorporándole fibras de
tabaco. ” (“This book’s paper
was made without damaging
nature. It uses recycled
white paper that incorporates
tobacco fiber.”)
We will continue to rely
on a mixture of personally
coordinated exchanges and
out-of- country vendors to
obtain Cuban materials until
a true economic opening
between the two countries is
achieved. Complete freedom
to purchase and exchange
library materials through
direct commercial entities
would most likely involve the
lifting of the U.S. embargo,
which must be authorized by
the U.S. Congress.
In the meantime, I have
begun conversations with
publishers and potential vendors
in Cuba in preparation
for such a change. Scholarly
journals are beginning to be
published and accessible
online (Revista de la Biblioteca
Nacional de Cuba José
Martí; Temas), but print
monographs continue to be
elusive, fragile and timeconsuming
to obtain. Our
goal is to make the best Cuban
research available to our users
in a timely fashion—for this
we need open economic relations
and a developed book
trade. Cooperation with our
Cuban colleagues remains
crucial during this time of
change.
Lynn M. Shirey is the Librarian
for Latin America, Spain
and Portugal at the Harvard
Library (Widener).
DAVID ROCKEFELLER CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
VISITING SCHOLARS AND
FELLOWS PROGRAM
APPLICATIONS DUE FEBRUARY 1 ST
THE APPLICATION
Applications should be submitted electronically to drc_vsf@fas.harvard.edu
or via the online application form. For the form and further details please visit
http://www.drclas.harvard.edu/scholars .
David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
THE CENTER
Founded in 1994, the David Rockefeller
Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard
University works to increase knowledge of the
cultures, economies, histories, environment,
and contemporary affairs of past and present
Latin America.
THE PROGRAM
Each year the Center selects a number of
distinguished academics (Visiting Scholars) and
professionals (Fellows) who wish to spend one
or two semesters at Harvard working on their
own research and writing projects.
The Center offers nine fellowships that provide
support for one semester. Applications
from those with their own resources
are also welcome.
Visiting Scholars and Fellows are provided
shared office space, computers, library
privileges, access to University facilities and
events, and opportunities to audit classes and
attend seminars. The residential fellowships
cover round-trip travel expenses, health
insurance, and a taxable $25,000 living stipend
while at Harvard. Appointments are typically
for one or two semesters. Recipients are
expected to be in residence at the University a
minimum of twelve weeks during the semester.
DAVID ROCKEFELLER
CENTER FOR LATIN
AMERICAN STUDIES
1730 Cambridge Street
CGIS, South Building
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617-496-1588
drc_vsf@fas.harvard.edu
84 ReVista FALL 2015