U.S. Library Associations Set Up “Library Disaster Relief Fund” to Rebuild Libraries Destroyed by the Tsunami

Chinese American Library Association (CALA) Contributes First $3,900 to Fund

As part of the international effort to help rebuild the libraries damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Asia and parts of Africa at the end of 2004, the ‘US Library Associations Library Disaster Relief Fund’ has been created which will be able to accept tax-deductible donations.

The “Library Disaster Relief Fund” is a joint 501(c)(3) organization of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), the American Library Association (ALA), Association of Library and Information Science Educators (ALISE), Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Medical Library Association (MLA), and SLA.

The Chinese American Library Association is the first contributor to the fund, donating $3,900 that has been collected by its members.

Particularly hard hit in the region were libraries in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In Sri Lanka 177 school libraries, 53 public libraries and 68 libraries attached to religious institutions were damaged or destroyed. The National Library of Indonesia reports similar destruction in Aceh province, including the loss of 23 of the 72 staff at the Aceh Provincial Library.

The “Library Disaster Relief Fund” will be working with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to assist in the rebuilding process.

Checks should be made out to ‘Library Disaster Relief Fund’ and sent to the Medical Library Association, c/o Carla J. Funk, 65 E. Wacker Pl., Ste. 1900, Chicago, IL 60601-7298.

Updates on the damage to libraries and the rebuilding efforts can be found at http://www.sla.org/content/resources/tsunamirelief.cfm and http://www.ala.org/ala/iro/iroactivities/tsunamirelief.htm