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The Cuban Libraries Support Group will work in partnership with:
1. Information for Social Change
is a grass-root activist organization for library and information workers which:
* addresses issues of freedom of information and censorship as they affect library and information work.
* promotes alternatives to mainstream library and information provision.
* provides a forum for the exchange of radical views on library and information issues.
* debates ethics and freedom with the library and information professions.
* challenges the dominant paradigms of library and information work.
2. The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) is the UK professional body representing over 25,000 members working in library and information services of all kinds. At its Annual General Meeting the Library Association agreed on the following motion:
Recognising the damage caused to Cuban libraries by the illegal US blockade and building on the IFLA conference held in Havana, this AGM calls upon CILIP via its International Committee and the International Group to
* work through IFLA to develop and support libraries in Cuba.
* encourage a co-operative agreement with ASCUBI (Cuban Library Association).
* work with the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, Book Aid International, the RNIB and other institutions to send material aid to Cuban libraries.
* lobby the government to end the information blockade of Cuba.
* recognise and support Cuban library and information professionals via subscriptions to associations, journals and networks and supporting professional events linked to Cuba.
* help to set up twinning initiatives between libraries in the UK and Cuba.
3. The Cuba Solidarity Campaign
aims to provide information and resources on Cuba, to promote positive links between the two countries and to develop solidarity, specifically:
* respect for Cuba's right to sovereignty and independence.
* an end to interference in Cuba's internal affairs by foreign governments.
* an end to the US economic blockade of Cuba.
* the normalization by the US of all diplomatic cultural, scientific and travel relations with Cuba.
works in partnership with people in developing countries to support literacy, education, training and publishing by providing books and other reading materials - which help give them the chance to realize their potential and contribute to the development of their socieities. Book Aid have contacts with a number of Cuban libraries and organizations, including:
* Universities of Santa Clara and Havana
* Ministry of Health, Proinfo (library school), GELI (language institute)
* Jose Marti National Library, Havana Public Library
* Institutes of Nefrologia, Cardiology and Anaesthesiology
* Inst Cubana Amist Pueblo, Ciego de Avila Ctr Hygeine
* website of the National Network on Cuba, umbrella organization for many pro-normalization/solidarity groups in the U.S.
* Features not only news about and statements from Cuba, but also comprehensive listings of U.S. groups, events both U.S. and international, information about travel to the island, and the world’s most thorough-going list of Cuban websites.
The Progressive Librarians Guild
For more information about the Cuban Libraries Support Group, contact John Pateman at johnpateman9@hotmail.com
John Pateman is a member of the Society of Chief Librarians and has visited Cuban libraries in 1993, 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2003.
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Last updated 03/2006, © 2000-2003 Cuban Libraries Support Group
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