#radical librarians

[womenoflibraryhistory]

As a self-declared radical, Stearns once stated, “I’ve been called ‘a radical’ and a ‘communist but I recall that Susan B. Anthony was termed ‘an old hen’ and Jane Addams was designated . . . as ‘the most dangerous person in America’ so I’m in good company.”  She traveled around the state of Wisconsin and soon became not only an advocate for free libraries, but also for women and children.  Her belief was that everyone should be able to have access to books no matter the age or gender of the patron.

“The Gift of Literacy: Lutie E. Stearns“ by Madison Well at the American Library Association Archives blog

[richincolor]

ANA MARIE COX: Maybe I’m a romantic, but I do think of librarians as inherently radical. There’s something political about access to information. CARLA HAYDEN: And it has been throughout history. Frederick Douglass said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” If you can absorb information yourself and make your own decisions, that’s a freedom. And for so many times in history, being able to read and access information has been part of it, especially in my case, with African-Americans.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden Thinks Libraries Are a Key to Freedom

[provenance]

Sandy Berman

The Making of a Radical Librarian

[li-izumi]

So I’m creating a book display at work.

...Centered on 1984.

Being a tiny library with a limited collection, I couldn’t get everything on my wish list, but my display includes:

1984 by George Orwell Animal Farm, by George Orwell Handmaiden’s Tale, Margaret Atwell Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins Brave New World, Aldous Huxley It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis Iron Heel, Jack London We, Yevgeny Zamayatin

Honorable mentions goes to the books my library doesn’t have: Swastika Night, Katharine Burdekin Obernewtyn, Isobelle Carmody Penultimate Truth, Philip K. Dick The Flood, Maggie Gee Facial Justice, L.P. Hartley The Dispossessed, Ursula K. LeGuin The Elites triology, Marie Lu V for Vendetta, Alan Moore 1Q84, Haruki Murakami Bend Sinister, Vladimir Nabokov Article 5, Kristen Simmons

Any other librarians out there, let’s make some book displays! Feel free to add any other titles that fit the theme.

[bookowl]

Too many see the idea of a radical librarianship as a sort of extreme political partisanship. That is wrong. Radical librarians see librarianship as a chance to make a positive difference in their community. They see their mission to not simply promote reading, or to inform a community. Instead radical librarians, the kind we need, see their mission as the improvement of society. They see their role and the instruments of their institutions as engaging a community and addressing the issues that have exploded in Ferguson. Addressing these issues not with tear gas and rubber bullets, but through pizza, magic shows, and learning. Some may see summer programs and juice boxes as distractions, or as weak tools in comparison to body armor, but they are wrong. An engaged community, a library dedicated to learning, and making a difference is a powerful deterrent to violence. The deterrent is not a threat of force, but the promise of opportunity and a better tomorrow. I ask you to support the work and librarians of both Ferguson Public Library and the Florissant Valley Branch. Help through donating time, money, food, books, but also with your voice. Let them know that this is librarianship.

Radical Librarians in Ferguson and Beyond

by R. David Lankes

August 21st 2014

[fuckyeahdarkextropian]

The radical tactics of the offline: abandoning the online for more secure offline transfer. Taking inspiration from ancient libraries as copying centers and Sneakernet, Henry Warwick describes the future of the library as digital and offline. Radical Tactics of the Offline Library traces the history of the library and the importance of the Personal Portable Library in sharing knowledge and resisting proprietarian forces. The library in Alexandria contained about 500,000 scrolls; the Library of Congress, the largest library in the history of civilization, contains about 35 million publications. A digital version of it would fit on a 24 terabyte array, which can be purchased for about $2000. Obviously, most people don’t need 35 million books. A small local library of 10,000 books could fit on a 64 GB thumb drive the size of a pack of chewing gum and costing perhaps $40.

[queersinthelibrary]

Look what I found on the shelving carts!

Revolting Librarians Redux edited by Katia Roberto and Jessamyn West (Vermont pride!)

(Also I've been practicing my eyeliner but you can't really tell in this photo.)

[queersinthelibrary]

Is anyone else upset that they can't be at the National Book Awards right now? I'm actually working the closing shift right now so I couldn't even watch it, instead I've been angrily watching people live-tweet their experiences.

There are people posting selfies with Toni Morrison and Dr Maya Angelou. Let that sink in. SELFIES WITH MS MORRISON AND DR ANGELOU. So jealous right now.

Anyways I want the National Book Foundation to fly me out next year so I can blog the queer poly radical librarian angle.

I'm not alone, right?