Peru: helping journalists understand past

Check Out! International News Libraries

By Dana G. Williams
freedomforum.org

08.08.01

Printer-friendly page

Freedom Forum Journalism Library users at work in Lima.

When The Freedom Forum News Library opened its doors in Lima, Peru, it was bustling with local and foreign visitors. The library opened in March 2000 during The Freedom Forum's international media forum, Press, Power and Politics: Peru, which featured the first televised debate among presidential candidates in that country.

Peru's political situation has been world news since that time, following the presidential contest between Alberto Fujimori and Alejandro Toledo, Fujimori's resignation from the presidency shortly after the election and a second democratic election that brought Toledo to the presidency.

Because of the political upheaval, said librarian Gilda Cogorno, library visitors are most interested in topics "related to ethical journalism, freedom of the press and freedom of expression."

The library is helping students and journalists learn about political struggles in Peru and how politics has affected the Peruvian news media. The most popular texts are hard-to-find resources called "prensa chicha," informal newspapers that were used by Fujimori's government to discredit political opponents. The Freedom Forum library is the only one with a collection of these papers.

The biggest problem for journalists in Peru today is living with the legacy of corruption from Fujimori's discredited regime, according to Cogorno. "In Peru, media business leaders often had a relationship with ex-presidential adviser Vladimiro Montesinos or other criminal organizations, which hurt the news media's credibility."

"The library is an important resource for journalists, because journalist files and collections are very poor in our country," said Cogorno, a specialist in Peruvian history and Andean archaeology.

Having a collection that reflects the political and journalistic history of Peru helps to foreign journalists trying to develop a clear understanding of the country. Demand is great for information on media and government corruption and ethics, so the library has concentrated on expanding its collection with resources focusing on these subjects. The collection holds legal cases regarding press freedom in Peru, as well as cases concerning human rights and journalism ethics.

"I belong to a new generation of journalists that has witnessed the abuses of the press by an autocratic regime," said Enrique Patriau, a library patron and reporter for the Diario Liberacion in Lima. "We want to investigate and clarify events that occurred during this period and also need to understand why this happened and how we can prevent it in the future. The news files and investigative reports at the library are important in helping us improve and complete our work."

The main users of the library are public university students in need of current resources and specialized local information. They use the facility to get free Internet access, keep up with periodicals and photocopy references. Cogorno said, "The students say they have more support here than at their own libraries."

The library is also popular with media institutions and both local and foreign journalists who need current resources and information on political issues in Peru. The library collection started with 600 books, reference works and subscriptions to 22 U.S. magazines. In the first year, the collection has doubled, as demand for magazines and newspapers has grown. With the help of the investigative journalists' group of the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, a journalists association, the library is compiling a print and electronic file of investigative reports by Peruvian journalists. Plans call for these files to include reports from investigative journalists from other Andean countries, as well.

The library is located in the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad offices in a historic house in Barranco, an old neighborhood that has become a cultural center of art galleries, antique stores, schools and cafes and restaurants. The library is a large room illuminated by a stained-glass skylight over several reading tables. As the number of resources grows, parts of the collection have spilled out into the hallway in magazine racks. Television and video resources have been moved next door in an adjoining room to ensure privacy and quiet for those working at the reading tables or computers in the main library room.

Since opening, the library has had hundreds of visitors. There are two full-time staffers: In addition to Cogorno, Leonard Vicuna is in charge of the news files. The staffers teach visitors how to use reference works and the Internet and hope to start partnerships with journalism schools and professionals to hold educational activities, photojournalism displays and other programs.

"We are still very young," Cogorno said. "It would be great if our library became the premier information center not only for graduates and experienced journalists, but also for those who are studying for their degree. It would be wonderful to become a main instrument in the fight for freedom of speech and press in Peru."

Related

Profiles of International News Libraries
Series of articles profiling resources, activities at Freedom Forum libraries for journalists, journalism students.  10.01.01

Mali's haven for journalists
International news library in Bamako feeds hunger for information, training.  09.05.01