Empty, try another…

Along with the difficulties posed by the Patriot Act, during the first two years, it was also noted that most libraries were not actively disseminating information about the war on Iraq, or the Middle East in general. In May, 2003 – two months into the US-led attack on Iraq, Library Journal reported that a review of the homepages of several major urban public libraries and university libraries revealed that most did not have significant web resources or bibliographic materials devoted to the war, or the historical and diplomatic background to the conflict.

Exceptions among major urban public libraries were the Queens Borough (NY) Public Library, Denver Public Library, King County (Washington) Public Library, Multnomah County Public Library (Oregon), and the Minneapolis Public Library. Interestingly, the New York Public Library did have considerable materials, but these were apparently buried under a generic “search the Internet” rubric. The report also noted that the library homepages of the major Ivy League universities offered no immediately visible links.

Source:

Michael Rogers, “For Libraries, It’s Mostly Quiet on the Middle East Info Front,” Library Journal, May 1, 2003, pp. 16-17.

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