PROTECTING PATRIMONY:
The Digital Library of the Caribbean's Initiative
to Support the Vulnerable Libraries and Archives of Haiti

In response to the earthquake on January 12, 2010, many institutions and individuals have
expressed an interest in supporting Haitian libraries and archives as they begin the difficult and
costly process of rebuilding and working towards the future. The Digital Library of the
Caribbean (dLOC) has been working closely with its partner institutions in Port-au-Prince and is
poised to play a vital role in helping them coordinate their efforts to rebuild and implement a
long-term plan of sustainability for the future. The Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative builds
on strong, long term partnerships, with an emphasis on accountability and transparency.

-- RWhat we need now is really to rebuild
capacity... everything is broken, even the clock in
the reading room. We first concentrated on
securing the documents, the collection is
presently sheltered in 1.456 boxes...but the
shelving,the desks, the chairs, the periodical
hangers, the card catalog (because we still use it
when there is no electricity) are gone. What
took 60 years to put in place is broken.
Frangoise Beaulieu-Thybulle (MLIS)
Biblioth&que Nationale D'Hafti
Periodicals Room at the National Library of Haiti. Conservateur/Directeur General

The mission of the Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative is as follows:

The Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative brings together international contributors to assist
Haiti with the preservation of Haitian cultural patrimony while respecting local sovereignty.

The initiative has three goals:

1. Encourage communication across institutions working to assist Haiti's libraries
2. Coordinate technical and in-kind assistance for Haiti's libraries
3. Raise dollars to support specific collection/archival recovery and preservation projects in
Haiti, including purchasing and shipping needed materials, paying travel costs for
specialists to travel to Haiti, paying wages for personnel doing archival preservation and
recovery work in Haiti

At the institutional and organizational levels, contributors dedicate resources (financial,
technical, in-kind or human capital) to support the Haitian libraries and archives. Additionally,
contributors commit to sharing information, strategies and best practices related to outreach to
Haiti.

Sign up to volunteer or donate online at www.dloc.com. For more details, email dloc@fiu.edu.

DIGITAL LIBRARY OF THE CARIBBEAN (DLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and
about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. dLOC provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean
cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections.
The technical infrastructure for the project is provided by the University of Florida Digital Library Center
and the project is administered by the Latin American and Caribbean Center and the Libraries at Florida
International University.