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Library Activists:
These links lead to organizations that support, fight for or actively moblize information professionals and the general public around political, social, and cultural issues.
- Progressive Librarians' Guild:
"Librarians concerned with [the] profession's rapid drift into dubious alliances with business and the information industry, and into complacent acceptance of service to an unquestioned political, economic and cultural status quo." They sponsor programmes, publish "Progressive Librarians", and have an email-discussion list. - Progressive Archivists:
"Progressive Archivists is a discussion group and caucus for archivists (and anyone else) interested in social responsibility in the context of the archival profession." - Anarchist Librarians Web:
"A network of radical and anarchist librarians working towards a better world and socially responsible libraries. We get together at library conventions, anarchist conferences, and radical book fairs to put on protests, raise awareness, or simply drink beers together." - Information Professionals for Social Justice:
A group created at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their goal is to "create awareness, build understanding, and directly address social justice issues in the information professions." They have group discussions, forums and community outreach services. - Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center Library:
"The Library's mission is to support the educational, research, and informational needs of IMC (Independent Media Center) media creators as well as the community." - Librarians Against the WTO:
The mission of this group is to mobilize and inform librarians and the public about the WTO and the GATS and its effect on publicy funded institutions. They protest, start letter-writing campaigns and help educate through conferences. - Librarians for Peace:
Group of librarians and archivists advocating for peace through letter writing campaigns and a list-serv. - Librarians Against Bush:
"A group of politically active librarians who are concerned about the Bush administration's policies and their effects on civil liberties, privacy, and intellectual freedom." - The People's Library Army:
The website provides information on the state of free and equal access to information for patrons in libraries, reporting on issues such as the USA PATRIOT Act and CIPA. - Radical Reference:
"Radical reference is a service provided by volunteer library workers from all over the United States. The main goal of this service is to assist demonstrators and activists at the convergence surrounding the Republican National Convention in New York City August 29-September 2, 2004. Library workers will utilize their professional skills and tools to answer information needs from the general public, journalists, and activists."
