[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MIRIAM RUTH GUTMAN BRAVERMAN GREAT POINT-OF-LIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 8, 2006

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute Miriam Braverman as a Great 
Point-of-Light for all Americans. Dr. Braverman was a great 
humanitarian as well as a Librarian specializing in literature for 
youth. She had a soul and mind that could absorb the essence of the 
entire sweep of our civilization. Her encyclopedic approach to the 
world produced insights which catapulted her into the moral leadership 
of her profession. ``Claims of respect for human life are rhetoric if 
librarians continue as merely neutral disseminators of information.''
  Dr. Braverman clearly understood that the power of information was 
continually escalating. That our culture could experience a dangerous 
overload bloated with trivia was a major concern. She advocated a 
selectivity focused on human rights advocacy as a guide for the 
preparation and dissemination of materials for youth. In her 
dissertation she criticized a generation of librarians who were 
obviously preoccupied with shielding youth from matters related to sex 
while ignoring great amounts of violence in the literature targeted for 
boys.
  Miriam Braverman was an advocate in the classroom and a fighter on 
the street with the demonstrators against war and injustice. In 
Brownsville, one of New York's poorest communities, she inspired large 
numbers of young women to go on to college through her leadership of a 
Career and College Club. At the national level she was a leader in the 
movement which culminated in the American Library Association's 
condemnation of the war in Vietnam. Constantly she pushed for greater 
library involvement in the practical utilization of information and 
retrieval services. She was also an astute political observer and an 
enthusiastic advisor who supported many progressive candidates 
including the first campaign of Major Owens for the New York State 
Senate and the Major Owens for Congress campaigns. To block the triumph 
of evil she felt that participation in electoral politics was a 
necessary chore.
  Miriam Braverman, without hesitation, as a college professor rallied 
to assist her students with any problem, academic or personal. As a 
neighbor and friend she responded to any emergency. Loving the whole 
world and being concerned with mankind began with a single individual. 
In her honor the Progressive Librarian: A Journal for Critical Studies 
and Progressive Politics in Librarianship has established a Miriam 
Braverman Prize Essay Contest. Today I am joined by a band of dedicated 
followers as I salute Dr. Miriam Braverman as a Great Point-of-Light 
for all Americans.

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