I’ve been using the public libraries since I could first read. It was a big event for my sisters and me when we finally got a library in the town where I grew up. Today I count on my local library for out-of-print resources as well as recent best sellers. So you could say I’m a big supporter of libraries.
I’m also the editor of the book arts quarterly Ampersand, and for the issue I’m just sending off to the printer, I wanted to include photos of some of the broadsides from an exhibition last fall at the San Francisco Center for the Book protesting the March 5th 2007 car bombing on al-Mutanabi Street in Baghdad. This street is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, a winding street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls. But, as my friend Cathy pointed out to me, the March bombing wasn’t an isolated event—since Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled in 2003 there have been many bombings and much destruction around al-Mutanabi Street, starting with the Iraq National Library and Archive in Baghdad which was set alight and looted.
In 2003, Dr Saad Eskander, the Director of the Iraq National Library and Archive (INLA), began a blog, hosted by the British Library. His entries are a vivid and powerful account of the challenges facing the INLA to protect Iraq’s cultural heritage. It’s a fascinating read. Below are a few more resources Cathy gave me:
- Dr. Eskander’s blog
- Website of the Iraq National Library and Archive
- Interview with Dr. Eskander after March 2007 by American Libraries
- NPR podcast on rebuilding the library and archive
- Iraqi Libraries and Archives in Peril. A good summary article by Jeffrey B. Spurr, an
Islamic and Middle East Specialist at Harvard University