The publication of the first book on the development of IFLA's human rights involvement provides an opportunity to stimulate discussion about that history, with particular reference to the Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) core activity. Several case studies (South Africa, Turkey, Israel/Palestine, and Cuba) are evaluated, the work of the IFLA Social Responsibilities Discussion Group is noted, and suggestions are made for the more democratic and effective functioning of FAIFE.
Report of the Working Group on South Africa to the Executive Board of IFLA, Spring 1990 (The Hague: IFLA, 1990). Report of the Executive Board on the Motion Concerning South African Membership in IFLA (The Hague: IFLA, 11 April 1991). Patricia Wilson Berger, Chair, to Members of the IFLA Working Group on South Africa, Memorandum on stationery of the American Library Association, 25 April 1991 (unpublished). Ms. Berger states in part, "I am disappointed by the Board's nonresponsiveness to our recommendations. Their rationalizations strike me as copouts -they just do not want to take a stand on South Africa ... ."
2.
Al Kagan .IFLA and social responsibility: a core value of librarianship. In Libraries, National Security, Freedom of Information Laws and Social Responsibilities, 33-43, IFLA/FAIFE World Report (Copenhagen: IFLA/ FAIFE Office, 2005).
3.
Al Kagan .Living in the real world: a decade of progressive librarianship in the USA and in international library organizations. Innovation: Appropriate Librarianship and Information Work in Southern Africa , No. 22 (June 2001): 10-19.
4.
Personal communication to the author.
5.
The IFLA President told this author that the Government of Turkey was sending a representative from Ankara (the capital) to observe the meeting, and that the US resolution could be grounds for deportation. The President also raised the possibility of violence if the resolution was not withdrawn.
6.
Al Kagan .IFLA and human rights. Progressive Librarian, No. 10-11 (Winter 1995/1996): 79-82.
7.
Cuba: "Essential Measures"?: Human Rights Crack-down in the Name of Security. London : Amnesty International, 2003.
8.
For example, the Friends of Cuban Libraries left separate messages for the various East European and Baltic library associations on the public bulletin board at the Oslo Conference.
9.
International Relations Committee and Intellectual Freedom Committee's Report on Cuba adopted by the ALA Council at the 2004 ALA Midwinter Meeting, http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=archive&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay.cfm&ContentID=55475.
10.
Alfred Kagan .The growing gap between the information rich and the information poor both within countries and between countries: a composite policy paper. IFLA Journal26 (2000): 28-33.
