(www.friendsofcubanlibraries.org)

    ALA OFFICIAL CHANGES OPINION ON CUBA

    In a notable departure from the American Library Association's past
handling of the Cuba issue, John W. Berry, former president of the ALA and current
chair of the ALA International Relations Committee, has endorsed an amendment
to the ALA's most recent statement on intellectual freedom in Cuba. The
amendment, proposed by ALA Councilor Karen G. Schneider at the ALA's January 2004
conference, in San Diego, California, called for the immediate release of Cuban
citizens imprisoned for opening uncensored libraries. The amendment was voted
down by the ALA Council, but John W. Berry, in an interview published in the
March 2004 issue of Peacework, the magazine of the American Friends Service
Committee, states that he "would have supported the amendment myself."

    Among other comments in Peacework, John W. Berry stated: "In the
International Relations Committee, we're working with and pressuring the Cuban Library
Association to take a stand for free expression, including free internet
access, within their own country." Regarding his own visits to independent
librarians in Cuba, many of whom have now been sentenced to prison terms of up to 26
years,  Mr. Berry said: "When I was in Cuba, I visited the independent
librarians, and they said they wanted to live in Cuba, a Cuba that was free.... Some
people try to discredit them by claiming they're not professional librarians,
but that's not a distinction which I believe is important. I love these
people. I wish Castro would let them go. I understand the argument the Cuban
government is making, but I disagree, and I oppose it." With regard to the defeated
amendment to the ALA resolution in January which called for the release of the
jailed volunteer librarians in Cuba, John W. Berry declared: "I would have
supported the amendment myself." The full text of the Peacework article can be
read at: (http://www.afsc.org/pwork/0403/040307.htm).

    The Friends of Cuban Libraries welcome John W. Berry's firm statement of
principle in Peacework, and we would like to remind ALA Councilors that
principles have little or no meaning unless they are also backed up by policies. We
respectfully call upon the ALA, at its June conference in Orlando, Florida, to
adopt a resolution which calls for: (1) a condemnation of the Cuban
government's persecution of the independent library movement, (2) the immediate release
of all Cuban citizens imprisoned for the alleged crime of opening uncensored
libraries, and (3) the immediate return of all library books, patron records
and other materials confiscated by the Cuban government during its raids on the
independent libraries

    It is time for the ALA to put aside its past history on this important
issue and to live up to its principles by taking bold action on Cuba, in keeping
with the ALA's splendid statement entitled "The Universal Right to Free
Expression," adopted by the ALA Council in 1991, which is excerpted below:

         The Universal Right to Free Expression:

        An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights

Freedom of expression is an inalienable human right and the foundation for
self-government.... The American Library Association endorses this principle,
which is also set
forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly. The Preamble of this document states that
"recognition of the
inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family
is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world..."

Article 19 states:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive
and
impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers."

We maintain that these are universal principles and should be applied by
libraries and librarians throughout the world.

We know that censorship, ignorance, and limitations on the free flow of
information are the tools of tyranny and oppression. We believe that ideas
and
information topple the walls of hate and fear and build bridges of cooperation
and understanding far more effectively than weapons and armies.

The American Library Association is unswerving in its commitment to human
rights and intellectual freedom; the two are inseparably linked and
inextricably
entwined. Freedom of opinion and expression is not derived from or dependent
on any form of government or political power. This right is inherent in every
individual. It cannot be surrendered, nor can it be denied. True justice
comes
from the exercise of this right.

We recognize the power of information and ideas to inspire justice, to
restore freedom and dignity to the oppressed, and to change the hearts and
minds
of the oppressors.

Courageous men and women, in difficult and dangerous circumstances throughout
human history, have demonstrated that freedom lives in the human heart and
cries out for justice even in the face of threats, enslavement, imprisonment,
torture, exile, and death. We draw inspiration from their example. They
challenge us to remain steadfast in our most basic professional responsibility
to promote and defend the right of free expression.

There is no good censorship. Any effort to restrict free expression and the
free flow of information aids the oppressor. Fighting oppression with
censorship is self-defeating.

Threats to the freedom of expression of any person anywhere are threats to
the freedom of all people everywhere. Violations of human rights and the
right
of free expression have been recorded in virtually every country and society
across the globe.

In response to these violations, we affirm these principles:

* The American Library Association opposes any use of governmental
prerogative that leads to the intimidation of individuals which prevents them
from exercising their rights to hold opinions without interference, and to
seek,
receive, and impart information and ideas. We urge libraries and librarians
everywhere to resist such abuse of governmental power, and to support those
against whom such governmental power has been employed.

* The American Library Association condemns any governmental effort to
involve libraries and librarians in restrictions on the right of any
individual
to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive, and impart
information and ideas. Such restrictions pervert the function of the library
and
violate the professional responsibilities of librarians.

* The American Library Association rejects censorship in any form. Any action
which denies the inalienable human rights of individuals only damages the
will to resist oppression, strengthens the hand of the oppressor, and
undermines
the cause of justice.

* The American Library Association will not abrogate these principles. We
believe that censorship corrupts the cause of justice, and contributes to the
demise of freedom.

(www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/univ_exp.html)
Adopted by the ALA Council, January 16, 1991