Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction

Knuth, Rebecca

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2006.10.007

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…The generals of such conquests carried their loot home as trophies of war. In other instances, the literary collections of conquered states were set on fire with the aim of annihilating entire cultures (Knuth, 2006). Similarly, the invasion of Iraq by the allied forces in 2003 and the subsequent looting of its libraries and museums illustrate the destructive nature of such disasters (Johnson, 2005;Rayward and Jenkins, 2006).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Disaster preparedness of libraries

Ayoung¹,

Boatbil²,

Baada³

2016

Information Development

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The importance of disaster management plans for library staff rests on their effective and efficient utilization to confront library-related disasters. This study seeks to evaluate the preparedness of Ghanaian polytechnic libraries towards disasters, with respect to measures put in place. Based largely on a qualitative approach, the study interviewed five head librarians and 25 other staff members of selected polytechnics, who were chosen using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Data was analysed using interpretative techniques. The results showed general absence of security policies and disaster plans. Polytechnic libraries were found to be ill-prepared with respect to disasters. Therefore, it is recommended that libraries develop policies for disaster management, organise training programs for staff in order to increase their awareness about disasters and be involved in cooperative networks.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The famous destruction of the Alexandria Library is a classic example (Van der Hoeven and van Albada, 1996). Knuth (2006) also recounts the destruction and looting of the cultural and literary heritage of conquered states by the Roman Empire. The generals of such conquests carried their loot home as trophies of war.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

Disaster preparedness of libraries

Ayoung¹,

Boatbil²,

Baada³

2016

Information Development

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“…In these, the common factor is the presence of fractures within communities and societies, the lines of cleavage coinciding mostly with divisions along religious, ethnic, linguistic, socioeconomic, class, gender, age, and/or ideological lines. In both India and Sri Lanka, ethnic, caste, and religious conflicts are blamed for the destruction of rare, irreplaceable library holdingsfor example, those of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune, India, and the Jaffna Public Library in Sri Lanka (Caswell, 2009;Knuth, 2006). In South Africa it is not clear whether public libraries have been deliberately targeted simply because they were libraries.…”

Section: Risks In the External Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risks and Benefits of Visibility: Librarians Navigating Social and Political Turbulence

Lor¹

2016

Library Trends

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The deliberate burning of libraries is nothing new, but it seems surprising that such incidents have also occurred in peacetime in democracies. What does this say about community perceptions of libraries and the response of the library profession? Mostly, libraries are not very newsworthy. In some countries they are largely invisible; in others they may only attract public attention when they are threatened by cutbacks or closures or when things go badly wrong. The visibility and invisibility of libraries in the political arena confer risks, as well as benefits. As a framework for an exploration of this topic, libraries in various countries are conceptualized as being located in the political space on a continuum, from invisible to highly visible, on which the risks of visibility and invisibility can be situated. Some observations, with particular reference to library development in South Africa, follow on how librarians see themselves and their institutions in relation to the communities and societies they serve. This paper concludes that the risks of invisibility outweigh those of visibility, but that the political awareness, engagement, and commitment of the library profession are critical.

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“…It apparently did not. (Knuth, 2006;223 -233) Nevertheless, one cannot but harbour some suspicions especially, as with the remains of the Abhayagiri monastery's buildings' destruction, excavations have revealed evidence also of layers of ash and wooden beams where carbon dating has similarly supported a belief that a conflagration did take place in the early 300's A.D.…”

Section: Jetavanamentioning

confidence: 99%