From: Danielle Mincio <danielle.mincio@bcu.unil.ch>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:54:27 +0100
Subject: [IFLA-L] Tunisian Jasmin Revolution and libraries
To: ifla-l@infoserv.inist.fr
Dear Colleagues,
You'll find here the report of Ahmed Khisbi, our colleague in Tunisia,
on the situation of the libraries in Tunisia.
If you want to help the Tunisian libraries, you can take contact with
him: hmedksibi@yahoo.fr
/*Report: Tunisian public libraries affected due to the uprising of the
Tunisian people*/
/*Introduction*/
/The Revolt of the Tunisian people to regain their dignity was at stir
among their neighbors and blew the winds of freedom around the world.
Like any popular revolt this revolt has created expectations and damage
... The infiltration of the goons in the popular uprising of youth has
caused damage. Forty public libraries were destroyed, and damage is
considerable estimated at 400 000 dinar equivalent of 200 thousand Euro
that has affected the entire public library network (BP) (see attached
list)./
/*1-Presentation of the network of public libraries:*/
/The public library network (BP) falls within the Tunisian Ministry of
Culture and Heritage Preservation. For a country of 10 million
inhabitants, this network includes 370 public libraries including 340
libraries and 30 other fixed phones in all regions of Tunisia. There are
a 24 governorates libraries and the branch libraries or municipal
district, a subdivision that is consistent with the administrative and
territorial division./
/The effort by the young state after independence (1956) in the sector
of public reading was a major undertaking for a country with limited
resources: the national dignity could be restored only through access to
knowledge. Thus, the sector went through his first steps in the wake of
the investigation and the widespread enrollment. Public libraries have
been created by modern standards from the 4th Development Plan
(1972/1976) to the current 11th Plan (2007/2011), with an annual rate of
around 10 new libraries. The BP network now has a substantial human and
material resources, a thousand and a half permanent staff, annual
procurement of a value equivalent to one and half million U.S. dollars
have enabled the development of public library collections to 5.5
million books. These resources should allow the development of the
reading base for cultural development that should emerge on a large scale./
/This network has been gradually implemented, locally and regionally, in
the cultural landscape of the country to take up and integrate it .
Indeed, the public library has become undeniably the most popular
cultural institution among students. She is ahead by attending cultural
and scientists clubs included in the 470 youth and cultural centers and
associations. Collections and services have been of greate benefit to BP
2 million young people in school: students and majority students (90.51%
of users)./
/*2-Problems of the network of public libraries (PL)*/
/However, the contradictions are numerous: the PL collections are in
contrast to expectations of these young people. It consists mostly of
literary titles (novels, short stories and poetry) -56% - and the social
sciences 36%, only 8% is devoted to basic science and technology, while
youth in Tunisia increasingly marked by materials scientists opt for
reading utility and demand works in areas close to their studies or
their future professions. The large distortion is clear-cut: between
"supply" highly centralized where BP are characterized by inefficiency,
and "demand", plural and specific. The difference between a policy of
vertical development and the needs of users, more and more diversified,
can generate enormous wastage./
/The solution of the modernization of the services provided by public
libraries is indigent, 160 libraries have been equipped with computers
connected to the Internet. However Internet accessibility is very
limited to PL, because the control of the political police is degrading
and the price of access remains very high compared to prices offered by
Publinets or cultural centers./
/Certainly, the deficiencies in infrastructure, equipment and coaching
culture and information are tenacious and are still being felt. They
have created a disincentive for the development of widespread public
reading./
/It is the movement of civil society that has tried to reactivate it. In
order to entrench the tradition of reading among the various categories
of the Tunisian society, the Tunisian Association of documentalists,
librarians and archivists has mobilized in the early 90s, its members to
lead the network of BP. Since an incentive plan on reading was hired by
« the public reading direction » of the Ministry of Culture. In
addition, thirty local associations of friends of libraries and books
that contributed from the 70s to publicize the book and reading. Lately,
they have formed the National Federation of Associations of Friends of
the Library and the book aims to pool the efforts of the motivation for
reading. It is essential to prepare a company that knows how to reflect
and innovate, because all social movements arise./
/Unemployment among graduates of higher education and consciousness of
scholars have prepared the conditions for rebellion against the
government since 2008 in the mining area of Gafsa./
/*3 - Libraries close to the government were sacked*/
/The extraordinary Tunisian people's uprising in January 2011 turned
into revolt for democracy and freedom, created like any revolt, much
hope and many problems./
/Libraries generally close to public buildings representing the state
and power have been vandalized. Forty public libraries were looted or
burned, hardware damaged, and damage to the holdings are considerable./
/In the present context, the attack of a library can not however be
interpreted unequivocally as an act perpetrated against the city,
culture and democracy. Complex in nature and fundamentally ambivalent,
it must be understood in the context of conflicts between state and
youth classes./
/It is in the process of lighting services excluding education and
reading public (known under several names: "illiteracy, poor readers,
learning disabilities, semi-literacy, under- schooling ", and presented
in various forms) that researchers should address this poignant
question:" Why do we burn a library? "/
/By depriving young people of school BP, sociocultural institution of
busiest, the risk would be great to worsen the slump. This would produce
semi-human semi-illiterate and ignorant relieved of humanistic
knowledge, may fear their polarizations by obscurantism./
/All professionals and activists of civil society and culture are sought
for a mobilization to repair ransacked libraries and recovery of
resources and the rebirth of their services./
Kind regards
Danielle Mincio
Member of IFLA Governing Board 2007-2009, 2009-2011
Secretary of the IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section
Conservateur des manuscrits
Responsable PAC
Présidente du COSADOCA
Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire
Unithèque
CH 1015 Lausanne Dorigny Suisse
Tél +41 21 692 47 83
--
Regards
Fatima Darries
E-LIS SA Editor
www.highedlibrarian.blogspot.com
www.openaccesslibrary.pbwiki.com
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