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Librarians group
opposes crackdown in Cuba
By Luis Monteagudo Jr.
Union-Tribune
Staff Writer. January 15, 2004
A national group of librarians meeting
in San Diego voted yesterday to express
support for librarians jailed in Cuba but
stopped short of calling for their release.
The vote ended months of debate on an issue
that has divided the American Library Association
and drawn national attention. It came on
the last day of the association's six-day
convention, which attracted about 13,000
people to San Diego.
The organization has been debating what
stance to take on a spring 2003 crackdown
by the Cuban government that included the
jailing of independent librarians. Librarians,
newspaper columnists and others have criticized
the American association for failing to
speak out on behalf of the jailed librarians.
Yesterday, the association's governing
council voted to adopt a report from two
of its committees on the issue. The four-page
report said the association expresses its
"deep concern" over the arrest
and jailing of the librarians and urges
the Cuban government to "respect, defend
and promote" basic human rights.
The report also called for the lifting
of U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba.
Association member Karen Schneider tried
to amend the report to include a call for
the immediate release of the librarians.
The amendment was overwhelmingly rejected.
The council then overwhelmingly voted to
adopt the report.
In both cases, an exact vote count was
unclear because the 182-member council voted
by a show of raised hands.
Council members who opposed the amendment
said the report was a good consensus reached
by the two committees. They said calling
for further action would drag the association
into a foreign-policy matter.
"It strikes a balanced tone on all
aspects of the issue," said Alfred
Kagan, an Illinois professor of library
administration.
Other council members said the organization
has been bitterly divided by the controversy
and urged adoption of the report so the
association could move forward.
But Ellen Zyroff, a San Diego librarian
and longtime association member, said it
was time for the association to show more
leadership and urged a vote on a stronger
resolution defending the Cuban librarians.
"Where's the talk about human rights?"
she said.
In an interview after the vote, association
President Carla Hayden said the vote "shows
that people are able to work out differences
of opinion and come together on a joint
statement."
Robert Kent, a New York librarian who has
been a leading critic of the association's
stance on the issue, said in a phone interview
that the report was a modest advance but
didn't go far enough.
"I think the vote declining to take
any meaningful action with regards to Cuba's
imprisonment of independent librarians marks
a very sad day in the history of the ALA,"
Kent said.
Luis Monteagudo: (619) 542-4589; luis.monteagudo@uniontrib.com
© Copyright 2004 Union-Tribune
Publishing Co.
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