Marta Terry González (May 7, 1931 – June 18, 2018) was a Cuban librarian. She is known for her leadership of several important libraries in post-revolutionary Cuba, including those of the Junta Central de Planificación (JUCEPLAN),

Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which ...

, and the National Library José Martí, as well as her role in the

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of people who rely on libraries and information professionals. An independent, non-governmental, not-for-p ...

(IFLA). In these roles, she worked with well-known Cuban revolutionaries such as

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

and

Haydée Santamaría Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado (December 30, 1922 – July 28, 1980) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician, regarded as a heroine in post-revolutionary Cuba. She participated in the assault on Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 19 ...

Early life

As a child, Terry González helped her grandmother collect cigar butts after curfew so that her great-grandmother could smoke them in a pipe. She was homeschooled as a child due to her poor health. Her mother had died when she was young, so she was taught at home by her grandmother and her aunts, who worked as teachers. Several books left a strong early impression on her, including Corazón de Edmundo de Amicis and works by

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

Education

In 1948, Terry González entered the

University of Havana The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the firs ...

to study philosophy and literature. Her thesis for her master's degree was on the impact of chattel slavery on White society. In 1953, she visited the United States, where she experienced racial segregation in a Maryland restaurant. She saw American racial discrimination as puzzling and different from the anti-Black discrimination in Cuba.

Professional work

In 1961, Terry González was appointed to lead the library at JUCEPLAN, the body responsible for economic planning in Cuba. In 1980, she was one of the first two Cuban librarians to attend an IFLA conference. Gonzalez was appointed National Librarian of Cuba and director of the José Martí National Library in 1987, serving in that capacity for ten years. By 1994, she had become vice-president of IFLA and was also vice-president of its Havana Organizing Committee. Marta was recognized by IFLA as an honorary fellow, which is the federation's highest honor. Throughout her professional career, Terry González strove to ensure that libraries serve the general public, rather than an educated and moneyed elite. She died in Cuba on June 18, 2018.

References

1931 births 2018 deaths {{DEFAULTSORT:Terry Gonzalez, Marta Women librarians Cuban librarians International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Honorary Fellows University of Havana alumni