Advocacy

The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) has developed the Protecting Haitian Patrimony (PHP) Initiative to bring together international contributors to assist Haiti with the preservation of Haitian cultural patrimony while respecting local sovereignty. From February 11 to 17, 2010, Brooke Wooldridge, dLOC project coordinator, traveled to Haiti to meet with local leadership and determine the short, medium, and long-term goals for the initiative.

The downloadable PDF report summarizes the current actions taken in regard to the specific patrimonial collections in Haiti. It also provides the background necessary to develop coherent, complementary plans to assist local institutions as they protect the collections and develop resources to preserve and ensure that the future generations will have access to these resources.

The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), an international collaboration of educational, research, governmental, and nongovernmental institutions that provides access to electronic collections about the Caribbean, is seeking donations and technical assistance for the recovery and protection of Haiti’s libraries and their valuable historical, governmental, and cultural resources.

The Digital Library of the Caribbean has initiated the Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative, the goal of which is to help the country’s three largest heritage libraries and the National Archives, all of which were damaged in the January 12 earthquake. While the main structures remain standing, one library must be evacuated and most likely demolished and the others suffered significant damage, leaving their collections extremely vulnerable. As a result, significant resources will be needed to protect the already brittle, rare books and documents, now left in piles and covered with debris.

The damaged institutions have indicated they need gloves, masks, archival boxes, and temporary staff to assist in the clean-up. Later, they will need to replace broken shelving, repair or replace damaged electronic equipment, and provide more advanced restoration for many of the rarest books and documents.

Laura Probst, dean of FIU Libraries and a dLOC executive committee member, said protecting the historical documents is crucial in the earthquake’s aftermath.

“The collections in these archives represent the collective memory of the Haitian people, their culture, and Haiti’s role in the history of the western hemisphere and the world,” Probst said. “With this initiative we seek to preserve these invaluable resources for Haiti’s future, and for our own.”

FIU has a longstanding partnership with Haiti’s libraries and the National Archives through the Digital Library of the Caribbean and is one of the founding partners and administrators of dLOC, along with the University of Florida and the University of the Virgin Islands.

The Digital Library of the Caribbean’s operations are run out of the Latin American and Caribbean Center at FIU. Brooke Wooldridge, coordinator of dLOC at FIU, will be traveling to Haiti this week to assist the libraries and archives in documenting their needs and planning for the next phases of their recovery.

The Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative at first will channel resources to four institutions in Port-au-Prince:

• Archives Nationales d’Haïti houses both civil and state records, including births, marriage and death certificates, documentation of social works, civil governance and records of the Office of the President, and most government ministries
• Bibliothèque haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit was founded in 1873 by the Fathers of the Holy Spirit. The library holds resources documenting the history of Haiti, French colonization, slavery, and emancipation, and 20th Century records, as well as newspapers and periodicals
• Bibliothèque haïtienne des Frères de l’Instruction Chrétienne was founded in 1912 by the Christian Brothers. It served as depository-library for Haitian imprints and holds titles not even available in the National Library. It also holds one of the most significant collections of Haitian newspapers
• Bibliothèque National d’Haïti was established in 1940 and also serves as a public library providing resources, study space, and research support. It has a small but significant collection of rare books, manuscripts, and newspapers

For more information or to contribute to the Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative, please visit the dLOC website or call dLOC at 305-348-3008.

The text was published earlier today on the website of Florida International University (FIU) and is reprinted here with permission by news.FIU.edu.

Rescue Public Murals invites artists and arts organizations to contribute photographs of American outdoor murals, to be deposited in a special collection in the ARTstor Digital Library and made available for educational use.

The images in the Rescue Public Murals (Heritage Preservation) collection will serve as a valuable record of murals in the United States and place them in the context of other works in the arts, architecture, and humanities. Your photographs can join the more than five thousand catalogued mural photographs already contributed by Rescue Public Murals cochair, Timothy Drescher.

Images may be submitted online and should be high-resolution TIFF or JPEG files at 3,000 pixels on one side. Assistance is also available to scan slides. The online submission site includes fields to complete with identifying information about the mural, including artist name, title, date, location, medium, dimensions, photographer, and copyright information. Rescue Public Murals staff will facilitate their inclusion in ARTstor by providing cataloging and technical assistance.

Submissions are accepted until March 31, 2010. Artists and arts organizations that are considering submissions can email Kristen Laise or call 202-233-0824 for more information.

In 2006, Heritage Preservation launched Rescue Public Murals, an initiative to bring public attention to US murals, document their unique artistic and historic contributions, and secure the expertise and support to save them. While much of the effort is focused on the physical preservation of community murals, it is inevitable that some important murals will not survive. As another means of preserving this distinctive American art form, Rescue Public Murals also collects photographs and archival documentation related to murals.

Funding for this project comes from the Getty Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. Rescue Public Murals has also received support from the Booth Heritage Foundation, Friends of Heritage Preservation, and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.

On October 31, 2009, fifty-nine cultural heritage leaders from thirty-two countries, including representatives of Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Asia, unanimously passed the Salzburg Declaration on the Conservation and Preservation of Cultural Heritage. The declaration was the culmination of the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS), entitled “Connecting to the World’s Collections: Making the Case for Conservation and Preservation of our Cultural Heritage” and held October 28–November 1, 2009, under the auspices of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and SGS. The declaration will be widely distributed to cultural ministries and other policy-making entities; it has already been translated into Arabic.

The seminar built on the findings of “Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action,” IMLS’s multiyear initiative on collections care, putting them into a global context. It combined presentations by leading experts in conservation and preservation throughout the world with small working groups tasked with making practical recommendations for future action on specific topics. Those guiding topics included emergency preparedness, education and training, public awareness, new preservation approaches, and assessment and planning. One evening was devoted to a fireside chat on “conservation in the developing world,” with a panel of participants representing Benin, Iraq, Mexico, Singapore, and Trinidad and Tobago.

At the opening session, Vinod Daniel, seminar coleader and head of Culture Heritage and Science Initiatives at the Australia Museum, noted that he had never attended a meeting “as diverse as this, with people from this many parts of the world, as cross-disciplinary as this.” A report summarizing the discussions and outlining the recommendations will be published later this year, sent to key stakeholders around the world, and made available online at www.imls.gov and www.SalzburgGlobal.org.

Additional support for the seminar was provided by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. For more information about the program, please contact Nancy Rogers, IMLS senior project coordinator, or Susanna Seidl-Fox, SGS program director.

Daily seminar blog posts by Richard McCoy, associate conservator of objects at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, are available at www.iiconservation.org/wpress.

Saving Antiquities for Everyone (SAFE) and Donny George, former director of the Iraq Museum and former president of the Iraq State Board of Antiquities, invite you to participate in the 2008 Global Candlelight Vigil to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2003 looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

In the five years since this terrible event, nearly half the missing works have been recovered. Yet thousands of Iraq Museum artifacts remain at large. Meanwhile, museums around the world are increasingly confronted by security challenges, and rampant looting at archaeological sites continues unabated around the world.

“Now is the time for people and museum professionals to gather together: to remember the events of 2003 and take steps to ensure that no museum in the world suffers a similar fate,” says George, who is now a visiting professor at Stony Brook University.

In a global call to action, George urges museum directors and staff, university faculty and students, and citizens around the world to use the fifth anniversary of the looting of the Iraq Museum as an opportunity to reenergize our efforts to protect the world’s cultural heritage.

Museums are encouraged to treat April 10-12, 2008, every year as a time to conduct security audits and update their internal risk management and due diligence practices. Likewise, universities are invited to use these three days every year for education and public awareness about the academic, ethical, and legal consequences of the destruction of cultural heritage with classroom projects, panel discussions, symposiums, or exhibitions.

The SAFE website offers suggestions for universities, museums, community groups, and others to plan an event of any size. SAFE Candlelight Vigil Kits offer a wealth of resources, including the DVD documentary Robbing the Cradle of Civilization: The Looting of Iraq’s Ancient Treasures (Canadian Broadcasting Company) or the documentary Thieves of Baghdad (Al Jazeera). Other relevant videos, such as a Charlie Rose interview with George from 2007, can be used, and SAFE also provides publicity tools.

Hosting a vigil in your community is easy:

• Choose a location and time on April 10, 11, or 12

• Schedule your event and post it to the Host a Vigil section of the SAFE website so that members of your community can learn of it and attend

• Use e-cards, customizable announcement flyers, buttons, posters, postcards, and the press-release template to help publicize your vigil

• Distribute the Candlelight Vigil brochure for distribution at your event. The brochure is being developed in conjunction with the exhibition Catastrophe! The Looting and Destruction of Iraq’s Past at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago

• Gather with friends, family, colleagues, professors, and students. Pause for a moment of silence and light a candle. Discuss the destruction of cultural heritage and looting of ancient sites around the world, fueled by the global trade in illicit antiquities

• Document your vigil with digital photographs or video and send them to SAFE. We will use them in a compilation Video Memorial that includes gatherings from around the world

• You may also choose to light a virtual candle and add your name to the list of other supporters

For more information about the 2008 Global Candlelight Vigil for the Iraq Museum, contact us. Also join our e-mail list to receive periodic newsletters about SAFE activities.

SAFE is a nonprofit organization that creates educational programs and media campaigns to raise public awareness about the importance of preserving cultural heritage worldwide. Having no political affiliations, SAFE is a coalition of professionals in communications, media, and advertising working alongside experts in the academic, legal, and law enforcement communities.

Saving Antiquities for Everyone (SAFE) and Donny George, former director of the Iraq Museum and former president of the Iraq State Board of Antiquities, invite you to participate in the 2008 Global Candlelight Vigil to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2003 looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

In the five years since this terrible event, nearly half the missing works have been recovered. Yet thousands of Iraq Museum artifacts remain at large. Meanwhile, museums around the world are increasingly confronted by security challenges, and rampant looting at archaeological sites continues unabated around the world.

“Now is the time for people and museum professionals to gather together: to remember the events of 2003 and take steps to ensure that no museum in the world suffers a similar fate,” says George, who is now a visiting professor at Stony Brook University.

In a global call to action, George urges museum directors and staff, university faculty and students, and citizens around the world to use the fifth anniversary of the looting of the Iraq Museum as an opportunity to reenergize our efforts to protect the world’s cultural heritage.

Museums are encouraged to treat April 10-12, 2008, every year as a time to conduct security audits and update their internal risk management and due diligence practices. Likewise, universities are invited to use these three days every year for education and public awareness about the academic, ethical, and legal consequences of the destruction of cultural heritage with classroom projects, panel discussions, symposiums, or exhibitions.

The SAFE website offers suggestions for universities, museums, community groups, and others to plan an event of any size. SAFE Candlelight Vigil Kits offer a wealth of resources, including the DVD documentary Robbing the Cradle of Civilization: The Looting of Iraq’s Ancient Treasures (Canadian Broadcasting Company) or the documentary Thieves of Baghdad (Al Jazeera). Other relevant videos, such as a Charlie Rose interview with George from 2007, can be used, and SAFE also provides publicity tools.

Hosting a vigil in your community is easy:

• Choose a location and time on April 10, 11, or 12

• Schedule your event and post it to the Host a Vigil section of the SAFE website so that members of your community can learn of it and attend

• Use e-cards, customizable announcement flyers, buttons, posters, postcards, and the press-release template to help publicize your vigil

• Distribute the Candlelight Vigil brochure for distribution at your event. The brochure is being developed in conjunction with the exhibition Catastrophe! The Looting and Destruction of Iraq’s Past at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago

• Gather with friends, family, colleagues, professors, and students. Pause for a moment of silence and light a candle. Discuss the destruction of cultural heritage and looting of ancient sites around the world, fueled by the global trade in illicit antiquities

• Document your vigil with digital photographs or video and send them to SAFE. We will use them in a compilation Video Memorial that includes gatherings from around the world

• You may also choose to light a virtual candle and add your name to the list of other supporters

For more information about the 2008 Global Candlelight Vigil for the Iraq Museum, contact us. Also join our e-mail list to receive periodic newsletters about SAFE activities.

SAFE is a nonprofit organization that creates educational programs and media campaigns to raise public awareness about the importance of preserving cultural heritage worldwide. Having no political affiliations, SAFE is a coalition of professionals in communications, media, and advertising working alongside experts in the academic, legal, and law enforcement communities.