"Peace Libraries" - a place of healing

Module 8: Developing World Libraries

When I initially searched the World Bank’s website for library projects in developing nations, my exploration found multiple reports of basic educational improvement bids that ended unsuccessfully, in many cases due to isolation and an unsettled political climate.

For example, in Zanzibar, a region of Tanzania in East Africa, there was a bid in 2011 to the World Bank (Abdalla, 2011) to help create a school reference library of textbooks for secondary students. When searching for follow-up data, it appears that by 2014 the outcome was unsatisfactory due to political unrest (World Bank, 2014).

Can libraries be successful in a developing nation?

I dug further, determined to find a success story.

It seems that in developing nations libraries are more than repositories of physical books. Other forms of literacies, like financial literacy take precedent over reading for pleasure. Access to government data and assistance completing forms for subsidies is how public libraries help citizens most.

One specific library project I explored online was through the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), a global organization founded in 1927 that represents libraries and information services access for everyone. 

(Libraries for Peace, n. d.)

To support the local needs of their communities, twenty “Peace Libraries” were deployed in Colombia after conflict ended with FARC rebels. These libraries became places of healing, where citizens could share their personal stories and lived experiences during the turmoil. They were also places where services could be accessed, and “[a]s one of the first public services to return to these areas, they not only symboli[zed] the re-engagement of government, but [had] a major role in dealing with inequalities. Reduced access to education and information ha[d] risked putting residents of affected regions on the wrong side of a development gap.” People could reconnect, which “allow[ed] them to become part of ‘a national network bringing previously isolated regions together’” (IFLA, 2017). These "Peace Libraries" become launching points for civic engagement, focused on literacy and IT skills using bibliographic, digital, and audiovisual collections, all in an effort to rebuild stable democracy to help the country move forward.

I could not find any specific photos of this "Peace Library" in Columbia, and I am left wondering what the physical space actually looks like – what IT is on-site? Is the access to information unfiltered and uncensored? It is unclear. However, this story captured my attention because the world feels like it is in such turmoil right now, and the idea of a “Peace Library” made me feel hopeful.

References

Abdalla, M. S. (2011). Zanzibar Basic Education Improvement Project supply
Of Library And Reference Books For “A” And “O” Levels. (Notice No. OP000
07949). Retrieved from World Bank website: http://projects.worldbank.org/procurement/noticeoverview?lang=en&id=OP00007949

IFLA. (2017). International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/

IFLA. (2017, September 21). Stronger, More Stable, More Inclusive: Libraries
Around the World Help Build Peaceful Societies. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/node/11843

Libraries for Peace. (n. d.). In Facebook [Profile pictures]. Retrieved 2017,
October 21, from https://www.facebook.com/pg/librariesforpeace/photos/?tab=album&
album_id=540755816108933

Silva, C., Moncada, J. D., & Avila, J. D. (2017, March 9). Peace and Sustainable Development in Colombia: Reflections and Actions from the Library Sector.
IFLA news. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/node/11257

World Bank. (2014). Tanzania - Zanzibar Basic Education Improvement
Project. (Report No. ICR3150). Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/698101468313200247/Tanzania-Zanzibar-Basic-Education-Improvement-Project


Please note: usually formatting of the references is easy within Blogger, and in past weeks there has not been an issue. For an unknown reason, it keeps adding spaces and breaking links if I change it this week, so I have left it as is. Do any of you know why this might happen?