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UWI, Mona Organizes Library Mission in Haiti
Posted: July 19, 2010
As part of its efforts to assist in the recovery and preservation of Haitian historical records, the UWI, Mona organized a library mission visit from the UWI to Haiti between July 12-16, 2010. The January earthquake significantly damaged the main library and archive buildings in Haiti which housed the documents of the country’s rich history as a result there is a need for support in preservation and training.
The UWI, Mona-Haiti Library Mission was designed to provide training and assistance in preservation/conservation to library and archival staff in Haiti. The mission was led by Mr. John Aarons, University Archivist for UWI, and former Jamaica government archivist. Other members of the contingent included: Mr. Dunstan Newman (Preservation/Conservation Librarian) and Mr. David Brown (Binder).
While in Haiti the team organized and delivered two workshops for the staff of the National Library and National Archives in basic binding and conservation techniques. They also undertook to assist in the repair and restoration work and monitored the work being done by the persons trained. The workshops were preceded by a brief survey of the situation at the National Library and Archives to determine the priority areas for training and the equipment and materials available.
The UWI-Mona has also accepted a librarian from the Haitian National Library to conduct a short internship at the University library.
The mission was proposed shortly after the January 12 earthquake by Dr. Matthew Smith, Director, UWI-Mona Haiti Initiative, in close consultation with Mme. Françoise Thybulle, Director of the National Library of Haiti, and Ms. Brooke Wooldridge, of the Digital Library of the Caribbean (FIU).