Information in a time of war

I am simultaneously heartened and horrified by reading the online diary of Saad Eskander, Director of the Iraqi National Library and Archive (http://www.bl.uk/iraqdiary.html). The library has been extensively looted, causing some to liken the current situation to the 13th century sacking of Baghdad by the Mongols. In the abstract this is depressing but Eskander’s diary puts a much more human face on recent events. He writes of the fear that drives people from the library, the threats that his staff routinely receive, the difficulties in tracing collections that are known to have been stolen and distributed, including rare treasures traded on the black market. His library has 39 armed guards, and part of his job is to track down staff who are kidnapped. What is heartening in any of this? The fact that he lives and he continues to work on developing this precious resource. The fact that he can communicate to the outside world what is happening so that we cannot claim ignorance of the plunder in the years ahead. Libraries appear quaint to many people in the ‘developed’ world, but we lose sight of the value and role of curated knowledge and free exchange of ideas at our peril. History shows that those who seek to control always want to limit both the flow of information and the accurate recording of events. You can learn how the ALA is responding at http://www.ala.org/ala/iro/iraq.htm