User:Book/BlogEntry: 2007 June 29 15:32:55 EAT
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Revision as of 12:33, 29 June 2007
We had a workshop at the US Social Forum. Ten people attended. I think 80 percent were librarians, and by the way, this workshop, like many other of the USSF workshops, was held in a public library. The Auburn Avenue Research Library, in our case. 10 percent of the participants were a Veteran for Peace, and the resting ten percent were library activists - myself among them. Two Danish students and a filmmaker from (?) Arizona also showed up at the workshop at a later stage.
Eileen Harger from the Progressive Librarians Guild, a nation-wide network that published "Progressive Librarian", chaired the meeting. The PLG brings up many important issues for debate and resolution within the American Library Association. The ALA, unfortunate coincidence, finished its yearly conference in Wahington just yesterday, so some of the PLG activists went there instead of coming to the USSF. The ALA has some 70.000 members, and some of their conferences have more participants than the USSF, although I do not know how many we are here at the USSF? Maybe 15.000. That is a figure I have heard.
Elaine was seconded by Melissa Morrone, a public librarian from Brooklyn. Melissa has prepared a little survey with questions for social activists, such as "Do you use your library for anything related to your actvist work? If Yes, in what manner?". I have sofar conducted only one interview with Melissa's form in hand. The guy I asked said No. He does not use his library. He uses the internet istead.*
Dr Kathleen de la Pe�a McCook, who is a library scientist teaching at the university of South Florida, spoke about the role and the duties of libraries for human rights, especially the human rights of the immigrants to the USA. The library is, or should absolutely be, a place where the immigrant can go and feel welcome, and find the needed information! (This is an example of issues that are discussed in the PLG and the ALA, too). I, as a library actvist, tried to explain why the library and the social forum need each other and belong together. I believ some people are starting to understand this now. Although many still believe that theb library is a marginal thin, which acomes after water, food, peace, health etc. Just as an exeperiment of thought: start with the library, and everything else will follow.
We are collecting materials from the USSF in a box near the media center. It will of course be more like a sample than the full documentation. Hopefully, other librarians will follow the example at other social fora. with the help of the accumulated library science we will ultimately develop and refine our methods. The social forum process will get the memory and the continuity it deserves. I still have a dream that world society will get a world library. To be continued.
- Mikael
- I think the internet, too, is a library and, off the record, told him so.
