lostmemo

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LOST MEMORY - LIBRARIES ANDARCHIVES DESTROYEDIN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

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Recommended catalogue entry:Memory of the World: Lost Memory - Libraries and Archives destroyed in the TwentiethCentury / prepared for UNESCO on behalf of IFLA by Hans van der Hoeven and on behalf ofICA by Joan van Albada. - Paris : UNESCO, 1996. - ii, 70 pp. ; 30 cm. - (CII-96/WS/1)I - van der Hoeven, HansII - van Albada, JoanIII - UNESCO. General Information Programme and UNISIST@UNESCO, 1996

PREFACEi

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Every year, precious fragments, if not whole chunks of the world documentary heritage, disappearthrough "natural" causes: acidified paper that crumbles to dust, leather, parchment, film andmagnetic tape attacked by light, heat, humidity or dust. As well as natural causes, accidentsregularly afflict libraries and archives. Floods, fires, hurricanes, storms, earthquakes... the listgoes on of disasters which are difficult to guard against except by taking preventive measures.Every year, treasures are destroyed by fire and other extreme weather conditions such ascyclones, monsoons.It would take a very long time to compile a list of all the libraries and archives destroyed orseriously damaged by acts of war, bombardment and fire, whether deliberate or accidental. No listhas yet been drawn up of the holdings or collections already lost or endangered. The Library ofAlexandria is probably the most famous historical example, but how many other known andunknown treasures have vanished in Constantinople, Warsaw, Florence, or more recently inBucharest, Saint Petersburg and Sarajevo? Sadly the list cannot be closed. There are so manymore, not to mention holdings dispersed following the accidental or deliberate displacement ofarchives and libraries.The present document, prepared within the framework of the "Memory of the World" Programme,under contract with ICA and IFLA, by J. van Albada and H. van der Hoeven, is an attempt to listmajor disasters that have destroyed or caused irreparable damage during this century to librariesand archives, whether written or audiovisual. The most endangered carriers are not necessarilythe oldest. In the audio domain substantial numbers of acetate discs and tapes are lost eachyear. The world of film was the first to become aware of the decay of the polymers used to recordsounds and images.War, in particular the two world wars, caused considerable losses, numerous libraries andarchives have been destroyed or badly damaged in the course of fighting, notably in France,Germany, Italy and Poland. War has also been the source of untold destruction to libraries andarchives in the former Yugoslavia since 1991. Shelling by gunners of the National and UniversityLibrary of Bosnia and Herzegovina started a fire that burned down the building and destroyedmost of the collections. Many books in the library had been salvaged from collections in librariesthat were damaged during World War II.This document is not meant to be a sort of funerary monument, but is intended to alert publicopinion and sensitize the professional community and local and national authorities to thedisappearance of archival and library treasures of inestimable value and to draw attention to theurgent need to safeguard endangered documentary heritage all over the world. Librarians andarchivists work hard to anticipate and prevent disasters affecting their holdings. Yet, even as theend of the 20th century approaches, it appears that documentary heritage housed in the world'slibraries and archives always remains at risk. Let us move into the 21st century with renewedcommitment to protecting the "Memory of the World" through disaster planning, through vigilanceand through the pursuit of world peace.Abdelaziz ABID, Division of the General Information Programme

The designations employed and the presentation of the material throughout this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the partof UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or regarding its frontiers and boundaries.Comments and suggestions regarding this document, as well as the "Memory of the World" Programme as a whole, are welcome and should be addressedto the Division of the General Information Programme, 1 rue Miollis, 75732 PARIS CEDEX 15.