Journal of Radical Librarianship
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Linguistic Imperialism, Toponymy, Semiotics & Taxonomies: The Anglicisation of Irish place names in hegemonic library cataloguing systems
Get PDFBackground. Cataloguing systems are generally assumed to be logical, objective and non-political. In this sense they are often assumed to be rather like maps. However, assumptions around the neutrality of both are erroneous. Maps and cataloguing systems reflect and reproduce dominance and power. In Ireland the six inch to a mile mapping project in the early to mid-1800s is generally accepted as the point at which much of the Anglicisation of Irish place names was formalised. As such it is often assumed that this Anglicisation is a historic event and that similar practices do not continue into the present.
Objective. This paper sought to examine how vernacular names for places are treated in a mainstream international library classification and cataloguing system.
Methods. The treatment of vernacular place names vis-Ã -vis English was examined under the dominant Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, the Dewey Decimal Classification & Relative Index (DDC) and the Resource Description and Access (RDA) system.
Results. This paper demonstrates how established international library classification and cataloguing systems continue to explicitly require English forms of names over the vernacular.
Contributions. This paper reveals how library classification and cataloguing systems both reinforce the legacy of colonial oppression, and continue to assert the dominance of English. Cataloguing systems may therefore be viewed in terms of their power and purpose, and as such should not be seen as ideologically neutral
Contextualizing the “Marketplace of Ideas†in Libraries
Get PDF“The marketplace of ideas†is frequently invoked in debates concerning the merits of free, unrestricted speech; as social and information centres of their communities, libraries are often implicated in these debates. If we suppose that libraries are supporters of civic debate, what does it mean to take the “free market of ideas†as the principle by which the free speech debate is organized? This paper contextualizes the tendency to imagine the public sphere as a free market in ideas within jurisprudence and the neoliberal arts of government, consulting democratic theory to question which frameworks libraries might draw from to reimagine their contribution to the public sphere.
Keywords: civic space; democracy; free speech; markets; neoliberalis
The illicit and illegitimate continued use of Jeffrey Beall’s “predatory†open access black lists
Get PDFFor several years, a US librarian, Jefrey Beall, blogged about problems he perceived in open access (OA) journals and publishers. During that time, many academics also felt that there were serious and legitimate issues with the scholarly nature of several OA journals and publishers. Beall rapidly gained popularity by recording his impressions on a personal blog, and created two controversial black lists of OA journals and publishers that he felt were unscholarly. Beall’s black lists were well received by some, but also angered many who felt that they had been listed unfairly, or who were not entitled to a fair challenge to become delisted. Beall seemed determined to show that the numbers of “predatory†OA journals and publishers were increasing annually, and even began to advocate for the formal use of his black lists as policy, encouraging academics not to publish in those journals or publishers. Institutes were also encouraged to use Beall’s black lists to prevent their academics from engaging in a free choice of publishing venue. That posture, antithetic to freedom of choice, may have harmed many academics and budding publishers. In mid-January of 2017, Beall shut down his blog, without warning. This was followed by considerable commotion among publishers, academics and their institutes that had relied on Beall’s black lists for guidance. A post-publication peer review of Beall’s black lists, Beall’s advocacy, and the potential damage that they have caused, has only now begun. Reasons why these black lists are academically illegitimate, and arguments why their continued use is illicit, are provided
Libraries, Labour, Capital: On Formal and Real Subsumption
Get PDFThis article looks at librarianship from a Marxist economic perspective, arguing that crises within the profession are due to material changes in the organization of production and labour relations. These changes are part of a transition from one “regime of accumulation†(industrial, Fordist, Keynesian) to another (neoliberal). The article suggests that any choice made to address these changes leads us further into relations of commodification which worsen the crises we face, and that only fundamental changes to the social, political, and economic system in which we work and live will solve the problems we currently face
Progressive Library Organizations Update, 2013-2017
Get PDFThis article is a five-year update to the author’s book, Progressive Library Organizations: A Worldwide History, published by McFarland in 2015. It includes information on all the organizations covered in the book except the Library and Information Workers Organisation of South Africa which folded in 2000. These six organizations are from Austria, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US. The analysis is based on several new interviews in 2017, documents, publications, correspondence, and much personal experience. These organizations are in various states of health, and two of them have transformed into new structures. We can take heart that activist librarians continue to organize themselves to push back against the neoliberalism that pervades our profession and the world at-large
Little Free Libraries®: Interrogating the impact of the branded book exchange
Get PDFIn this article, we critique the phenomenon of Little Free Libraries® (LFL®), the non-profit organization dedicated to sharing books with one’s neighbours. Through our engagement with the discourses, narratives and geographies of the LFL® movement, we argue that the organization represents the corporatization of literary philanthropy, and is an active participant in the civic crowdfunding activities of the non-profit industrial complex. The visible positioning of these book exchanges, particularly on private property in gentrified urban landscapes, offers a materialization of these neoliberal politics at street level. Drawing primarily upon one of the author’s experiences as an LFL® steward, as well as critical discourse and GIS analysis, we offer constructive critiques of the organization and their mission, and suggest that the principles of community-led library practice can be more effectively employed to harness the enthusiasm of these self-described “literacy warriors.â
Radical Librarians Collective Gathering 2016, Brighton
Get PDFThis paper reports on some of the sessions held at the Radical Librarians Collective Gathering on 9th July 2016 in Brighton, UK
The Election of Donald Trump to the Presidency and the Crisis of Liberalism in Librarianship: The Need to Reconsider the Social Function of the Library and its Role in Critical Information Literacy and Political Education in Response to the Rise of Alt-right Fascism in the United States
Get PDFThe advances of extreme right-wing political forces in the United States, exemplified most recently by the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, highlight the importance of initiating a critical and thorough examination of the function and effectiveness of institutions long believed to serve as fundamental pillars for public education and the advancement of democratic ideals, including libraries. Despite a carefully managed and revered public image as nearly-sacred spaces for freedom in intellectual development and unobstructed democratic participation and engagement, libraries have long maintained a posture of obedience and unquestioning subordination to the needs of elite social power structures, including those historically defined by racial supremacy and oppression. Under the present conditions, and despite public proclamations about libraries being on the “frontlines†of the liberal anti-Trump “resistanceâ€, as witnessed during 2017 American Library Association annual professional conference in Chicago, it is highly unlikely that mainstream libraries will be able or willing to spring into action and play an effective, credible role against the alarming rise of alt-right violence and proto-fascism in the United States. Such a role would have to be grounded in a progressive, alternative model for culturo-informational leadership and critical information and political literacy education in the United States. Developing this alternative in the short- to medium-term may prove a near impossibility as it would require radical changes in the way mainstream libraries are conceptualized, as well as in the ideological structure and delivery of library and information science education programs
Little Free Libraries: A View from the Back Road
Get PDFCommentary piece in response to Schmidt, H. and Hale, J. (2017). Little Free Libraries®: Interrogating the impact of the branded book exchange. Journal of Radical Librarianship, 3, 14–41
Ethnic and Racial Diversity in Libraries: How White Allies Can Support Arguments for Decolonization
Get PDFDespite the claim to neutrality, a woeful lack of diversity has had, and continues to have, latent consequences within librarianship and the services we provide. Historically, libraries as a product of white (heterosexual, capitalist, middle-class) librarianship have unwittingly upheld dominant oppressive cultural values by adhering to the tenet of neutrality. Instead, librarians must radically begin supporting our communities by pushing for the removal of institutionalized barriers to entering the information science profession, and divorce ourselves from the notion of neutrality by supporting social justice and civil rights issues. Using discursive analysis as a way to highlight the major scholarly arguments regarding the state of diversity in LIS, I will highlight the ways in which white librarians can better cement ourselves as allies while remaining cognizant of our position as colonizers