ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL N ew s ■ J u n e 1 9 9 9 /4 6 3 THE W AY I SEE IT Should libraries acquire revisionist materials? by John A. Drobnicki H i s to ric a l r e v is io n is a v a lid p r a c t ic e w h e r e b y h is to ria n s r e in te r p r e t t h e p a s t fro m d iffe re n t v ie w p o in ts a n d in th e lig n e w d o c u m e n t s o r r e s e a r c h . T h o s e w h o d e n y th e H o lo c a u s t, h o w e v e r, c all t h e m ­ se lv e s “re v is io n is ts ” in a n a tte m p t to g a in sc h o la rly leg itim a cy , try in g to a lig n th e m ­ se lv e s w ith t h e h is to ria n s o f th e 1920s a n d 1930s w h o r e in te r p r e te d th e c a u s e s o f th e first W orld War. B u t t h e s e p re s e n t- d a y “re v is io n is ts ” a re n o t re e x a m in in g causes, th e y a re d e n y in g e v e n ts a n d tw is tin g th e tru th t o su it th e ir o w n id e o lo g ic a l p u r p o s e s . N o t o n ly d o th e y d e n y th e a tte m p te d e x te rm in a tio n o f E u ro ­ p e a n J e w r y , t h e y f u r t h e r c la im t h a t th is “h o a x ” h a s b e e n p e r p e t r a t e d b y “Z io n ists” to d isc re d it a n d b la c k m a il G e rm a n y fo r r e p a ­ ra tio n s, a n d to g a in W e s te rn sy m p a th y fo r th e State o f Israel. H o l o c a u s t r e v i s i o n i s t s ( k n o w n a s “n e g a tio n is ts ” in F ra n c e ), th e re fo re , s e e k to d is p ro v e o n e o f th e m o st fully d o c u m e n t e d e v e n ts in m o d e r n h isto ry , w h ic h is te stified to b y su rv iv o rs, p e rp e tra to rs , c o lla b o ra to rs , w itn e s s e s , a n d b y s ta n d e rs — a n d th is d o c u ­ m e n ta tio n w ill c o n tin u e to g r o w w ith th e o p e n in g u p o f f o rm e r S oviet a rc h iv e s . In s h o rt, H o lo c a u s t-d e n ia l m a te ria ls a re b a s e d o n d e lib e ra te fa b ric a tio n s o f th e h is ­ to ric a l r e c o rd a n d a re o ffe n s iv e n o t o n ly to J e w is h p e rs o n s , b u t to a n y o n e w h o b e lie v e s h t th a t h isto ry s h o u ld b e a n a c c u ra te r e c o rd o f t h e p a s t ( o r a s a c c u ra te a s p o s s ib le ). o f C e rta in ly t h e s e p e o p le h a v e a rig h t to s a y a n d p u b lis h w h a te v e r th e y w a n t; b u t s h o u ld w e b u y a n y o f it, o r a c c e p t d o n a te d c o p ie s o f a n y o f it, fo r o u r libraries? S h o u ld w e b lo c k a c c e s s to it o n t h e Web? A lth o u g h th is m a te ria l is h a te lite ra tu re , th e L ibrary Bill o f R ights sa y s th a t “lib ra rie s s h o u ld p r o v id e m a te ria ls a n d in fo rm a tio n p re s e n tin g a ll p o in ts o f v ie w o n c u r re n t a n d h isto ric a l is s u e s .” I b e lie v e t h a t lib r a r ie s s h o u l d a c q u ir e s o m e re v is io n is t m a te ria ls ( a n d n o t filte r o n lin e a c c e s s to it), n o t ju st b e c a u s e o f in ­ te lle c tu a l fre e d o m , b u t b e c a u s e th e y , like th e e a rlie r fo rg e d P ro to co ls o f th e E ld ers o f Z io n , a re e x a m p l e s o f a n ti-S e m itism a n d p re ju d ic e th a t c o u ld , a n d s h o u ld , b e u tiliz e d b y s tu d e n ts a n d te a c h e rs a s p rim a ry s o u rc e m a te ria ls to illu stra te firs th a n d th e u g ly fa ce o f b ig o try . R a th e r th a n ig n o rin g th e H o lo c a u s t d e ­ n iers, o r d e lib e ra te ly b lo c k in g a c c e s s to th e ir W eb sites (w h ic h w o u ld m a k e th e m fo rb id ­ d e n fru it th a t w o u ld b e m u c h m o re d e s ir­ a b le ), te a c h e r s a n d s c h o la rs s h o u ld e x p o s e a n d re fu te th e ir lies. T h a t is th e g o a l o f s e v ­ e ral W eb sites, in c lu d in g T h e N iz k o r P ro je ct ( h t tp : //w w w .n iz k o r .o r g ) a n d T h e H o lo c a u s t H i s t o r y P r o j e c t ( h t t p : / / w w w . h o l o c a u s t - h is to ry .o rg ). About the author John A. Drobnicki is assistant professor/reference librarian at York College o f the City University o f New York, e-mail: drobnicki@york.cuny.edu Holocaust denial and libraries http://www.nizkor.org http://www.holocaust-history.org http://www.holocaust-history.org mailto:drobnicki@york.cuny.edu 4 6 4 / C & R L N e w s ■ J u n e 1999 I b e lie v e th a t lib r a r ie s s h o u ld a c ­ q u ir e so m e r e v is io n i s t m a t e r ia ls (and n o t f ilt e r o n lin e access to it) … b e cau se th e y … are e x a m p le s o f a n ti-S e m itis m an d p re ju d ice th a t cou ld, and sho u ld , be u tilize d b y stu ­ d e n t s a n d t e a c h e r s a s p r im a r y so u rce m a te ria ls to illu s tra te f ir s t ­ h a n d t h e u g l y f a c e o f b i g o t r y . H ow to c la s s ify ? A s i d e f r o m a c q u i s i t i o n , a c c e s s is t h e o t h e r p r o b l e m r e l a t i n g t o t h e s e m a t e r i a l s . N e i t h e r t h e L ib r a r y o f C o n g r e s s n o r D e w e y h a v e c r e ­ a t e d a s e p a r a t e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n f o r H o l o c a u s t r e v i s i o n i s m , s o l i b r a r i e s t h a t o w n t h e s e b o o k s g e n e r a l l y h a v e t h e m c l a s s i f i e d i n t h e H o l o c a u s t h i s t o r y s e c t i o n , s h e l v e d s i d e - b y - s i d e w i t h t h e s t a n d a r d w o r k s . H o w e v e r , l i ­ b r a r i e s t h a t d o n o t f i n d t h i s s u i t a b l e c o u l d c l a s s i f y H o l o c a u s t - d e n i a l t o m o r e a c c u r a t e l y r e f l e c t i t s c o n t e n t — a n t i - S e m i t i s m a n d p r e ju ­ d i c e a r e b u t t w o o f t h e e x a m p l e s t h a t h a v e b e e n o f f e r e d a s a l t e r n a t i v e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s in t h e l i t e r a t u r e , w h i c h w o u l d m o v e t h e m f r o m t h e h i s t o r y s e c t i o n . A d m i t t e d l y , t h i s is a v e r y s e n s i t i v e i s s u e , b u t it i s o n e t h a t i s n o t g o i n g t o j u s t g o a w a y . A l t h o u g h w e h a v e t r i e d t o i g n o r e t h e m , r e v i s i o n i s t s c o n t i n u e t o p u b l i s h a n d d i s t r i b u t e t h i s m a t e r i a l ( w h i c h n o w i n c l u d e s v i d e o s ) a n d t h e d e n i e r s h a v e b e c o m e v e r y a c t i v e o n t h e I n t e r n e t , f r e q u e n t l y t a r g e t i n g y o u n g p e o p l e , w h o a r e b y n a t u r e s k e p t i c a l o f “e s t a b l i s h e d h i s t o r y . ” T h e m a jo r p u r v e y o r o f t h i s m a t e r i a l i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s is t h e I n s t i t u t e f o r H i s t o r i c a l R e v i e w , w h i c h ( a l o n g w i t h i t s s i s t e r o r g a n i z a t i o n T h e N o o n t i d e P r e s s ) i s a s u b s i d i a r y o f t h e L e g i o n f o r t h e S u r v i v a l o f F r e e d o m . W i t h i n t h e n e x t d e c a d e o r t w o , t h e r e m a y b e n o H o l o c a u s t s u r v i v o r s s t i l l l i v i n g , l e a v ­ i n g n o o n e a b l e t o p o i n t t h e i r f i n g e r a t a r e v i s i o n i s t a n d s a y , “Y o u ’r e a l i a r ! I w a s t h e r e . ” A s l i b r a r i a n s , w e b e l i e v e i n i n t e l l e c ­ t u a l f r e e d o m a n d a b h o r c e n s o r s h i p , n e v e r ­ t h e l e s s , d o e s n ’t f i g h t i n g t o i n c l u d e H o l o ­ c a u s t - d e n i a l l i t e r a t u r e i n l i b r a r y c o l l e c t i o n s l e a v e a t e r r i b l e t a s t e i n o n e ’s m o u t h ? ■ ( “C o l l a b o r a t i v e . . . ” c o n t . f r o m p a g e 4 6 0 ) m is r e p r e s e n t s t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e is s u e s . N o s in g le lib ra r y c a n o r s h o u ld a c q u i r e a n d re ta in e v e r y th in g . T o d o s o w o u ld b e t o d is r e g a r d o u r h o m e in s titu tio n ’s m is s io n a n d t o s q u a n d e r its r e s o u r c e s . H o w e v e r , c o lle c t iv e ly w e s h o u ld b e c o n c e r n e d w ith t h e s u rv iv a l o f t h e p rin t r e c o r d b r o a d ly c o n c e i v e d . T h e P r e s e r v a tio n o f t h e A rti­ f a c t T a s k F o r c e is r i g h t t o u r g e g r e a t e r c o l ­ l a b o r a t i o n ; h o w e v e r , t h e c o l l a b o r a t i o n t h a t is m o s t n e e d e d , I b e l i e v e , is c o l l a b o r a t i o n a m o n g l ib r a r ia n s t h e m s e l v e s . C o l l e c t i n g , p r e s e r v i n g , r e f o r m a t t i n g , a n d d e a c c e s s i o n i n g d e c i s i o n s s h o u l d a l l b e m a d e w i t h a s e n s i t iv i t y t o t h e r a n g e o f h i s t o r i c a l e v i d e n c e t h e b o o k e m b o d ­ i e s a n d w i t h a t t e n t i o n t o t h e c o l l e c t i n g p r o ­ g r a m s o f o u r c o l l e a g u e s in o t h e r l ib r a r ie s . A s I h o p e w e a l l r e c o g n i z e , t h e p r o b l e m s f a c i n g r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s a r e b i g o n e s . W h i l e t h e r e a r e m a n y g o o d r e a s o n s t o e m b r a c e e l e c ­ t r o n ic te x ts , r e s tr a in in g t h e g r o w t h o f a lib ra ry c o ll e c t i o n is n o t o n e o f th e m . T h e s o lu t io n — o r s o lu tio n s , I s h o u ld s a y — w ill c o n t in u e t o in c lu d e b i g lib ra ry c o lle c t io n s . T h e y w ill i n v o lv e a s u b ­ s ta n tia l c o m m i t m e n t o f r e s o u r c e s f o r u n f a s h ­ i o n a b l e t h i n g s l i k e s h e l v i n g a n d p r e s e r v a t i o n m e a s u r e s . I n o r d e r t o s e r v e o u r i n s ti t u t io n s w e l l a n d s e r v e t h e l o n g - t e r m i n t e r e s t s o f s c h o l ­ a r s , p a r t o f t h e s o l u t i o n m u s t a l s o b e m e a n ­ in g f u l c o l l a b o r a t i o n a m o n g l ib r a r ia n s . W e s h o u l d a p p l a u d t h e e f f o r t s o f t h e P r e s ­ e r v a t i o n o f t h e A r t if a c t T a s k F o r c e f o r p u s h i n g f o r a g r e a t e r r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e i s s u e s a n d f o r its a d v o c a c y o n b e h a l f o f lib ra r ie s . E v e n a s w e d o s o , h o w e v e r , w e m u s t a l s o r e c o g n iz e t h a t th e 1 9 th -c e n tu ry p rin t r e c o r d w ill su rv iv e o r n o t, b a s e d o n d e c is i o n s lib r a r ia n s a r e m a k in g to d a y . W h a t w e n e e d a r e f o r m s o f c o ll a b o r a t i o n th a t a d v a n c e t h e m i s s i o n o f o u r r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s , r a t h e r t h a n s t r a t e g i e s t h a t r e t r e a t f r o m t h a t m is s i o n . N otes 1 . T h e “M L A S t a t e m e n t o n t h e S i g n i f i c a n c e o f P r i m a r y R e c o r d s ” w a s d r a f t e d u n d e r t h e a u s p i c e s o f t h e M L A A d H o c C o m m i t t e e o n t h e F u t u r e o f t h e P r i n t R e c o r d a n d i n c l u d e d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f r o m b o t h t h e s c h o l a r l y c o m ­ m u n it y a n d t h e l ib r a r y p r o f e s s i o n . T h e s t a t e ­ m e n t a p p e a r e d i n P r o f e s s i o n 9 5 ( N e w Y o r k : M o d e m L a n g u a g e A s s o c i a t i o n , 1 9 9 5 ) : 2 7 - 2 8 . 2 . F o r a r e p o r t o n t h a t d i s c u s s i o n , s e e C & R L N e w s 5 9 ( S e p t e m b e r 1 9 9 8 ) : 5 7 0 - 7 1 . 3 . D e a n n a M a r c u m , “W e C a n ’t S a v e E v e r y ­ t h i n g ,” N e w Y o r k T im e s ( J u l y 6 , 1 9 9 8 ) : A 1 5 . ■ C & R L N e w s ■ J u n e 1 9 9 9 / 4 6 5 4 6 6 / C & R L N e w s ■ J u n e 1999