Delgado's Havana apartment houses one of more than 60 independent libraries that have sprung up around the island in recent years to offer the country's many bookworms something besides revolutionary texts and official media. She complains that many donated books sent from Mexico, Spain and the United States are seized by customs officials without explanation. Still, the fact that the government hasn't shut down these libraries outright seems indicative of a slight opening-up, however circumscribed, on the communist island. Delgado opened her library last year. It's a small room lined with about 500 books and magazines, most in Spanish with a few in English, dealing with such subjects as politics, culture, religion, law and philosophy.
Visitors can read at the libraries or take books home.
Officially, Fidel Castro's government says there are no banned or censored books in Cuba. Gonzalez acknowledged there is no known official list of banned books and authors. It's like going to the ice cream store and having them tell you that they only have chocolate. Acosta said these texts can be read by anyone who walks in and asks for them. Go to the catalog and look it up.