In April 2015 I wrote the LJ article “We Are the Monuments Men” in response to the burning of the Mosul Public Library by ISIS. I asked, What can be done to protect libraries, cultural properties, and artifacts? Sadly, seven years later, the world is witnessing a new conflict, and I am again asking what can we do as librarians to protect, preserve, save information, special collections, cultural artifacts, and rare items in times of conflict?

Society today is more aware of what divides us than what unites us. Cases of librarians having to fight censorship, disinformation, and misinformation have been rising. However, libraries have been a refuge for many, both figuratively and literally, throughout history. World War II witnessed the destruction of Korolenko Library in Kharkov (Kharkiv) in the Soviet Union, what is today known as Kharkiv State Scientific Library of Vladimir Korolenko in Ukraine. In 2019, M. Sroka in the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Journal recounted a 1944 letter from a Russian librarian, Anna Kravczenko, that explains the destruction from bombing of the library as only the shelves were left intact “with no roof over them.” The symbolism of the shelves intact gave her and her colleagues the understanding that “no wars whatever can destroy the aspiration of mankind after genuine knowledge, wars are powerless to destroy the books in which this knowledge is stored.” Kravczenko’s statement is a great reminder of the perseverance of libraries and librarians during a time of conflict and crisis.

This resilience is being witnessed in Ukraine, where Ukrainian Library Association President Oksana Brui reported that they are using the libraries as bomb shelters and offering camouflage classes. The work that librarians in Ukraine continue to do in terms of supporting their community and battling with the constant misinformation being spread has become something we can learn from, but how can we help? I would like to highlight one successful contribution: Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO). SUCHO was originated by Sebastian Majstrorovic, a digital historian at the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage in Vienna. The group consists of cultural heritage professionals – librarians, archivists, researchers, and programmers – working together to identify and archive at-risk sites, digital content, and data in Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions while the country is under attack.

In the future many library collections in Ukraine will need to be replenished, and unfortunately some rare items may be lost forever. We need to work together across borders in making sure to preserve endangered library collections. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is working with Blue Shield International and UNESCO on plans of action to safeguard library collections. It will be interesting to see the action they take for Ukraine, but why don’t we already have steps in place to make sure if a crisis happens, we can protect our rare and culturally valuable items from harm? While many of our library organizations ask us to develop disaster planning and community resilience guidelines, these often don’t address issues around war and how to protect special collections from invaders. While we hope that none of us find ourselves and our communities in a conflict like the one playing out in Ukraine, we as library professionals should work towards creating a guidebook on protecting rare books, historical materials, documents, and maps during times of war. It is better to be over prepared than to not be ready at all.

We must collaborate, cooperate, and coordinate our efforts in preserving and inventorying our unique library materials. We need to generate data on the condition of materials as they are stored, the conditions under which they are used, the security around the collection, and the policies that affect their care, storage, and handling. Libraries transmit culture, have the unique ability to uplift individuals and society, and continue to enhance democracy even in conflict. To do that best, we must make sure we are prepared to work together to save what can’t be replaced.

Hammad Rauf Khan is data management librarian at the University of Texas at Arlington.