Journal of Radical Librarianship
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Cause for Concern: : Copycat Gender Identity Based Book Protests in Public Libraries in Ireland
Get PDFThis commentary briefly explores the rise of book bans in the US before giving an overview of similar protests emerging in Irish libraries. From being a very traditional and largely Catholic confessional State Ireland has been propelled into hyper-modernity over the last 50 years. The review briefly examines religious tensions in the Republic of Ireland and outlines ongoing conservatism, despite liberal social policies. The commentary concludes with a call for greater action and international solidarity to promote both inclusion and intellectual freedom
Please Scream Inside Your Heart:: How a Global Pandemic Affected Burnout in an Academic Library
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the authors’ experiences of the academic library workplace. Despite additional challenges introduced by working primarily remotely, the authors also witnessed their organization take steps toward making academic library work more human-centered. Using narrative inquiry, the authors interrogate their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and elements of workplace organization and treatment of library workers that offered brief glimpses of a workplace that is kinder and more concerned with employee well-being. However, over time, a renewed emphasis on pre-pandemic organization workplace values has been witnessed by the authors. The authors discuss what pre-COVID workplace practices are harmful and oppressive elements of white supremacy culture and capitalistic culture and should be abandoned, and what a human-centered workplace post-COVID might look like. Keywords: burnout, COVID-19, overwork, library workers, capitalism, white supremacy culture, vocational awe, role conflic
Caught in Crossfire: Library “Troubles” in Northern Ireland Exacerbate Ongoing Issues
Get PDFThe Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has proposed a reduction in Arts & Humanities degrees in favour of STEMM disciplines. At the same time funding for Libraries in the UK continues to decline annually. This broader context of attack and decline is now being significantly exacerbated in Northern Ireland by an “Austerity Budget”. Libraries there will be severely hit by this budget and anticipate reduced opening hours and not purchasing any new books in the coming year. This punitive budget is designed to critically weaken services in an effort to force politicians in Northern Ireland back into a Power Sharing Government. Such an attack on libraries is inappropriate, unacceptable and will have negative long-term repercussions
An examination of spatial inequalities in the provision of Little Free Libraries (LFLs) in Spokane, WA
Get PDFThe Little Free Library (LFL) organisation has gained significant positive media attention in the decade following its establishment. However, among a host of other concerns, some critics have noted the inequitable distribution in the provision of LFLs. This research explores the issue of inequitable provision of LFLs and their non-affiliated clones in Spokane, Washington. The results show a geographical pattern of higher provision in areas with populations that are white, affluent, and highly educated. These findings support an increasing body of evidence that suggests that LFLs both reflect and reinforce rather than challenge access to reading materials
Using Social Justice to Explore the Unreal: Cartographic Literacy in Library Instruction
Get PDFAt the most basic level, a map is a representation of space. When teaching with maps it is essential to have a holistic understanding that maps are created by people as tools, they represent the ideas and views of their makers, are used to exert control and power, and act as snapshots of the period in which they were produced. This paper provides an overview of interdisciplinary instruction using a library’s map collection focused on imaginary and unreal locations. We address three points through a social justice lens: (1) maps as constructs and reinforcers of colonialism, (2) the importance of identifying who, why, and when a map was created, and (3) the subversive power of intellectual and allegorical mapping. Our work expands on previous efforts to teach cartographic literacy and social justice by introducing imaginary cartographies to a conversation focused on our tangible world. Embedding social justice theories into cartographic instruction embodies radical librarianship by empowering patrons to think critically about the space and place they occupy
Locked Up Libraries: A Critique of Canadian Prison Library Policy
Get PDFAccess to library services in prison is a minimum human rights requirement. These services impact people both while they are incarcerated and as they reintegrate into the community. Since the 1980s, there have been recommendations to improve library services to people in Canadian federal prisons. Although some advancements have been made, recommendations for the improvement of library and educational services in Canadian prisons have been largely ignored by prison administrators and policy makers. Canadian prison libraries at both the federal and provincial-territorial level are still underfunded, understaffed, and sorely lacking in basic library materials, making it impossible for prison librarians to meet the minimum human rights requirements of the people they serve. This article makes recommendations for changes to existing Canadian prison library services and policies, with a focus on providing library services in correctional institutions which support the needs of the prison population. In addition, this article highlights the need and provides recommendations for public, academic, and special librarians to support prison librarians and the people they serve
"They Don't Necessarily Play Nice with Power Structure": Experiences in a Critical Librarianship Reading Group
Get PDFThis article provides insight into the motivations, experiences, and lessons from a critical librarianship reading group through interviews with twelve participants. Critical librarianship has gained traction as an important movement in the LIS field as it grapples with the library's role in systemic oppression. Providing spaces for conversation and critique around critical librarianship is critical to move toward praxis. The critical librarianship reading group discussed in this article grew out of a critical librarianship course, and now includes faculty, students, and alums. The themes generated from analysis of the interviews shows the importance of having such a space like a reading group to encourage deeper thinking and action for justice in workplaces, educational institutions, and communities
Stolen Memories: Israeli State Repression and Appropriation of Palestinian Cultural Resources
Get PDFAfter the events of “the Nakbah†(or, the Catastrophe) in 1948, Jewish military and paramilitary forces dispossessed over 800,000 Palestinians, forcing them to live as refugees. In the process of leaving, not only were their homes and land confiscated but also their cultural resources. In the intervening years, Israel has banned and censored Palestinian books and publications, and has imprisoned, deported, and assassinated Palestinian journalists, writers, and artists. These actions have spurred organizations such as the American Library Association to introduce resolutions sanctioning Israeli measures, only to see these resolutions watered-down to the point of inaction due to the intervention and agitation of pro-Israeli pressure groups. This paper describes and itemizes the actual Israeli destruction, looting and censorship of Palestinian libraries, archives, and cultural institutions both within 1948 and 1967 Palestine, as well those established by the Palestinian refugee diaspora. The paper also portrays how Israel classifies and restricts or denies access to archival materials to secure control of the historical narrative. It then delineates the deliberate Israeli harassment, imprisonment and assassination of Palestinian writers, journalists, intellectuals, and other cultural workers that have occurred since 1948. All these actions belie Israel’s self-serving propaganda image as a beacon of democracy
Wittgenstein and Intellectual Freedom
Get PDFThis article investigates the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein from the perspective of Intellectual Freedom in librarianship. The article argues that Intellectual Freedom tends to be informed by individualism and linguistic idealism. This in turn limits IF to advocacy rather than social change and thereby supports and maintains the oppressive racial and gender structures of capitalism. Following an outline of the philosophical foundations of Intellectual Freedom, the article investigates Wittgenstein’s challenge to language as an individual faculty and the constraints on the idea of freedom that follows from it. Wittgenstein’s recognition that languages are social conventions put to particular social uses opens up a collective approach to language and Intellectual Freedom conducive to the material transformation of real social conditions
Cabell’s International publishing blacklist: An interview with Kathleen Berryman
Get PDFOn January 15, 2017, a blog that was maintained by a US librarian, Jeffrey Beall, was suddenly shut down. That blog was famed for its divisive and controversial content, namely two blacklists that in essence labelled open access journals and publishers as “predatoryâ€. Beall showed that the entries on his lists increased annually, yet several publishing entities that had been blacklisted by Beall felt that they had been unfairly listed, causing, in some cases, reputational damage. In the vacuum that ensued in academic publishing quality control, a few entities tried to fill the gap to serve as a warning to academics. One of the organizations that stepped in was US-based Cabell’s International, which created a blacklist of journals that did not fulfill their established criteria. This brief communication reports on a structured interview that was held in June of 2017 between the author and Kathleen Berryman, Cabell's project manager. Some perspectives on Cabell’s whitelists and blacklists are provided