Thursday, September 22, 2005

ViL: came across this

I came across this this morning, in a page from the ALA the Vol had opened but not read:

"Biblioclasm: The destruction of Baghdad's library is only the latest chapter in the long, sorry war on words, May 14, 2003
“Although the details differ, the loss of contemporary Baghdad's books is no less shocking. On April 14, Iraq's National Library and Archives (home to 1 million books and an archival trove of 20 million documents) and the library of Awqaf or Religious Endowments were burned. The speed and ferociuos efficiency of the fires could have been on accident. Books burn poorly; their immolation requires the concerted effort of expert arsonists, who must have tended the fires with all the care that a poet lavishes on his lines or a scholar showers on her references. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 28 that the arsonists may have used white phosphorus, a fast-burning substance favored by military forces disposing of paper documents.”"

From the Vol Abroad:

About the Iraqi librarian featured in my earlier post, I guess we know what happened to the archives and the Iraqi libarian's job. Of course, we don't know what happened to her.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think two Southern girls have found each other in London! Good to "see" you.