Research and Publishing:

We did lots of research this year, and produced new reports and zines to share this information. Our February 2024 report on Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, has been featured in several articles and interviews. Catch up with these publications on our press page. We also produced the following zines:

• “A Care-Centered Guide to Digitally Archiving Palestine”
• “Exposing Ex Libris” (now in French and Spanish!)
• “Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024: A Preliminary Report from Librarians and Archivists with Palestine” – abridged versions in mini-zine format, in English and Spanish

All of our zines are shared under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA licenses and are available for printing and sharing digitally.

Campaigns: 

This past spring, we conducted One Book, Many Communities events both online and off. Our 2024 title was Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza by Mosab Abu Toha. There were 28 reading and discussion events in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and we were fortunate to have a live online event with the author on April 16. For the first time the campaign featured translations of a passage from a One Book title, in this case a poem. 

Over the summer, we launched a Censorship Tracker to gather data about incidents of censorship regarding Palestine in libraries and archives since October 2023. Please respond if you have a story to share about your library or archive, and spread the word about this data collection project with your networks. We are beginning to assess the data we have gathered, and will be reporting out over the course of 2025.

In the Profession and World:

As part of the American Library Association annual conference in San Diego this past June, we collaborated with the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association as well as Library Freedom Project to conduct “Accessing Palestine: Awareness, Education, and Advocacy in Library Spaces,” a panel discussion including Asian American social justice educator Shengxiao ‘Sole’ Yu.

In April, LAP member Mezna Qato gave a talk about our report on cultural heritage and genocide in Gaza at Darat al Funun. You can watch it online here.

In May, LAP member Alia Reza published our collaborative project with up//root, Palestine: A Reflection on Censorship, Intellectual Freedom, and Disinformation.

Earlier this year one of our box set portfolios traveled to upstate New York for an event at Vassar College, and Boston Public Library hosted an Open House featuring their copy of the set. If you would like to borrow a box set for an event or display of your own, just send us an email to start the process.

In July, LAP member Maggie Schreiner gave a talk about our report on Gaza to the Archivists and Archives of Color Section of the Society of American Archivists. In August, LAP was awarded Exemplary Service Award from the Executive Council of the Society of American Archivists.

LAP member Hilary Barlow gave talk on LAP’s work to Ontario College and University Library Association Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Community of Practice in November 2024, and to the Social Justice Committee of the Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians in December 2024. 

In December, LAP member Gretchen Alexander presented on report on Gaza at METRO’s Reference and Instruction Interest Group event on “Case Studies in Critical Pedagogy.” The same month, LAP member Vani Natarajan gave opening remarks at an event on archiving student movements at the Asian/Pacific/America Institute at New York University.

Fundraising:

Over the course of 2024, LAP raised  $12,004 for a fundraiser for the Yafa Cultural Center and Lajee Center. Both centers are in the West Bank and have library programs for children. The $12,004 was split equally between the two centers. In March 2024, we transitioned from PayPal to Stripe for accepting donations, and introduced the ability for donors to become monthly sustainers. We now have a small monthly sustained program. Although we did not run a fundraising drive or pro-actively seek donations, we raised $5,066 to support our ongoing work. Thank you to PM Press, Pamimpset Zine, and Wayfaring Booksellers for running fundraisers on our behalf.