Tenth News Update
RUTH RIKOWSKI
This News Update consists of a number of interesting and important news items that have been brought to my attention over the last week or so, from a variety of sources.
1. "SAVE AND BURN" –
FILM ABOUT LIBRARIES, BEING SHOWN AT THE BARBICAN
Documentary on the libraries' role as the guardians of culture
3 May 2007, 18.15 Cinema 3
Directed by Julian Samuel, 2004 (80 mins)
This film is to be shown at the Barbican, London. See:
http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/event-detail.asp?ID=5747
This is part of the London Palestine Film Festival, 2007 http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/series.asp?id=409
Tickets: £6.50 Standard/ £5 concessions
Special offer: book 3 films for £15
‘Save and Burn’ looks at how libraries are confined by the ideologies of their time and place.
Within this, it considers the commercialization of libraries, the irresponsible weeding and closing of libraries, the excesses of copyright law, and the unrecognized impact of the Orient on Western cultural heritage. Samuel’s interviews a range of senior librarians and collectors on a variety of topics, including the impact of the Patriot Act on libraries in the US today.
It says on the Barbican website that:
“This strikingly shot and intellectually commanding work includes exquisite footage of the Alexandrian Library, the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, and Bromley House in Nottingham.” The second half of the film shows the destruction of libraries and cultural infrastructure in Palestine and Iraq in recent years by Israeli and US-led occupying forces.
I first connected with Julian Samuel, through John Pateman in ISC, back in 2004. Julian sent some material to John, for inclusion in ISC. The material was included in two ISC issues, both edited by John Pateman and myself – Issue No. 20, Winter 2004 (http://libr.org/isc/issues/isc20.pdf)
and Issue No. 22, Winter 2005 (http://libr.org/isc/issues/ISC22a.pdf).
To then discover this week, that one of Julian’s films was being shown at the Barbican was quite something! Also, Julian is coming over from Canada specifically for the showing.
Julian Samuel has directed two films about libraries:
‘Save and Burn’ (2004) and ‘The Library in Crisis’ (2002).
For Further Information about ‘Save and Burn’ see:
Save and Burn: a documentary by Julian Samuel
http://www.ex-centris.com/?s=piece&z=detail&i=4732
Reviews and interviews in English and French
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/saveandburn1.htm
Review of ‘Save and Burn’ by Steve Fesenmaier, in ‘Counterpunch’, 2nd/3rd October 2004: see http://www.counterpunch.org/fesenmaier10022004.html
(this was also promoted in ‘Counterpoise’ – see http://www.civicmediacenter.org/counterpoise/)
Movies about Libraries: Save and Burn etc by Steve Fesanmaier
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/saveandburn2.html
The Library in Crisis
‘The Library in Crisis’ was featured in Information for Social Change, in the Winter 2004 issue, No. 20.
The Library in Crisis, 2002: Introduction to Julian Samuel's documentary film, Information for Social Change, Issue 20, Winter 2004 http://libr.org/isc/articles/20-Library_In_Crisis.html
Vinita Ramani interviews Julian Samuel about ‘The Library in Crisis’ and about some of Samuel's views about life in general, Information for Social Change, Issue 20, Winter 2004
http://libr.org/isc/articles/20-V.Ramani.html
Press Release
“The Library in Crisis (46 minutes, 2002) is a documentary on libraries; historic and contemporary bibliocides; literacy and the French Revolution; libraries morphing into centers of E-commerce; the impact of copyright and the digitization of texts; the Khmer Rouge's catalogues of people killed; and the World Trade Organization's concern for democracy.”
The Filmakers Library website talks about ‘The Library in Crisis’ saying that:
“Dense with the informed commentary of notable scholars, this documentary in effect traces the history of civilization through the phenomenon of the library. From ancient China, India, Islam, and the Graeco Roman world, we see how the library radiated knowledge and spiritual values, and facilitated the cross fertilization of ideas from one culture to another.” http://filmakers.com/indivs/LibraryCrisis.htm
Julian Samuel’s latest film is:
Atheism: a talking-heads documentary, 2006. 72 mins
Further information about the film is available in the ‘Occasional Papers’ section of ISC.
Quotations from Reviews of ‘Atheism’
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/atheism2.html
Atheism: saying goodbye to God - Film Review by Steve Fesenmaier. Sept. 25, 2006
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/atheism.html
Additional information about Julian Samuel
Julian J. Samuel, is a Montreal Film Director, who was born in Lahore, Pakistan. He has produced and directed short and medium length films and videos. This includes: Black Skin; White Masks (1973-79); Dictators (1982), Resisting The Pharaohs (1984; on the Montréal arms-export industry), and Red Star over the Western Press: Archive; Algeria, 1954-62 (1987). His work has been exhibited in Canada, England and the USA. Julian Samuel has published Lone Ranger in Pakistan (1986), The Raft of the Medusa (with Joceylne Doray) and a novel, Passage to Lahore (1995).
Julian Samuel has also produced, directed and edited: The Raft of the Medusa: five voices on colonies nations and histories (1993); Into the European Mirror (1994); City of the Dead and the World Exhibitions (1995) and Fatwa 447 (1999).
Julian has directed 2 films about libraries specifically: The Library in Crisis (2002) and Save and Burn (2004) and the latest film he has directed is Atheism (2006).
Finally, we have just bought tickets for ‘Save and Burn’ and will be going to see the film at the Barbican this Thursday!
2. WILLIAM MORRIS AND VESTRY HOUSE MUSEUM – ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Following on from the news item about the William Morris Gallery and the Vestry House Museum in my 7th News Update (Item 1), below are some links to further information on the topic. In particular, there was an article about the William Morris Gallery in The Guardian, on 17th April 2007.
Wonderful world: He was a design colossus. We must save the William Morris Gallery, says Jonathan Glancey, The Guardian, Tuesday April 17, 2007
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/design/story/0,,2058882,00.html
News from Waltham Forest: Letters in ‘The Guardian’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,2062379,00.html
Closure threat to Morris museum by Vanessa Thorpe, arts and media correspondent, Sunday Observer, January 28, 2007
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/design/story/0,,2000438,00.html
Wikipedia – information about William Morris Gallery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris_Gallery
Official website to help save William Morris Gallery and Vestry House museum, Walthamstow, Waltham Forest – includes News, Press Coverage, Petition, Downloads and Contacts
http://www.keepourmuseumsopen.org.uk/
3. LENNART WETTMART INTERVIEWS RORY LITWIN FOR BiS
(Bibliotek i Samhälle), 2007 (1)
AND FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT RORY LITWIN
This section contains some information about Lennart Wettmart’s interview with Rory Litwin in BiS, which was referred to in my News Update, No. 9 (item 6). This is followed by some further information about Rory.
In Lennart’s interview with Rory, Rory began by saying that he is a reference librarian at the University of Minnesota in Duluth, Minnesota, which is a college of about 10,000 students in a town of 85,000 people.
Furthermore, in his 10 years in librarianship Rory has been very involved in the community of the ‘Library Left’ – in particular, with the Social Responsibilities Round Table and the Progressive Librarians Guild.
Rory Litwin now has a publishing company, called Library Juice Press LLC - see http://libraryjuicepress.com/. Lennart asked Rory what he thinks is the significant contribution that Library Juice Press can, and is, making to library and information publishing in the USA. Rory explained that Library Juice publishes books generated specifically by the ‘Library Left’. Furthermore, that:
“People in the Library Left have been working on a lot of important ideas for decades, and much of this thinking is ready to be turned into books. These books will provide a record of our thinking and our activity. These books are less ephemeral, or at least seem less ephemeral, than blogs and electronic zines like Library Juice, which has been recording a lot of it. “
Rory talked about some of the other publishers that have published Library Left material, such as Scarecrow Press, McFarland and Neal Schuman. However, Library Juice is different because it is so much smaller and Rory can:
“…look at manuscripts in a much different way.”
Lennart asked Rory what he thinks the position of the ‘Library Left’ is in the USA today. Rory said that:
“The Library Left is in an awkward position in the US today…because we are presenting a radical oppositional posture that we inherited from the social movements of the 60s in a quite different context.”
Rory said that the 60s language is being used to defend “traditional values of American librarianship” at a time when they are being threatened by the mainstream. Rory pointed out the fact that whilst the mainstream library community seems to be fine with the marketisation of libraries, it hates the war in Iraq and the Bush administration. So, there are a lot of contradictions here. Yet, all such contradictions are clearly inevitable whilst we live in capitalism.
Rory then said that he is very proud to be the publisher of Ed D'Angelo’s book, ‘Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education, and the Public Good’, 2006 – see http://libraryjuicepress.com/barbarians.php.
Rory thinks that this book addresses some of the most burning issues in regard to libraries in the USA today. He also referred to his own edited collection: ‘Library Juice Concentrate’.
Rory recommended the following links to students that want to keep up with the ideas of the ‘Library Left’:
Library Juice
http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/
Kathleen de la Peña McCook's blog
http://librarian.lishost.org/
And the Librarian Activist blog, from Canada
http://www.librarianactivist.org/
Rory concluded, by mentioning a couple of books that will be published by Library Juice in the not-too-distant future. One is a collection of articles by members of the board of Information for Social Change, and the other is a biography of French public library pioneer Eugene Morel.
Additional information about Rory Litwin
Rory Litwin published ‘Library Juice’ from 1998-2005. See: http://libr.org/juice/
Note from the editor/publisher about ‘Library Juice’ (taken from ‘Library Juice’ website):
“Library Juice (ISSN 1544-9378) was an irregular, weekly, then biweekly, then, for a moment, monthly electronic zine for librarians, library and information science students, and other interested people, published between January, 1998 and August, 2005. It included discussions, commentary, announcements, humor, web links and news affecting the library world. Much of the material was about librarianship as the servant and protector of the public sphere; intellectual freedom and social responsibility as central to the profession. Library Juice was not a discussion list but a digest of material from a variety of sources. Much of the material came from individual contributors. Library Juice has since resumed life as a blog, as a book and as a book publishing company.” – see http://libr.org/juice/about.html
Thus, the original Library Juice has now ceased publicationas an electronic zine, and is now a blog (http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/) and a book – ‘Library Juice Concentrate’ (http://libraryjuicepress.com/concentrate.php).
Back issues of the biweekly magazine, ‘Library Juice’ published from 1998-2005 are available at: http://libr.org/juice/
The Book: Library Juice Concentrate – Edited by Rory Litwin, Library Juice Press, 2006 (http://libraryjuicepress.com/concentrate.php)
‘Library Juice Concentrate’ is a compilation of the best of Library Juice, which was a record of the ‘Library Left’ during 1998-2005. The book includes essays on topics such as professional neutrality, intellectual freedom, alternative literature, the social effects of technological change and the Cuba debate.
Library Juice Press LLC: books for fresh thinking on libraries, politics and culture – see http://libraryjuicepress.com/. – Rory Litwin’s publishing company for ‘Library Left’ material
Rory also hosts the web space, ‘Libr.org’, which has been ‘Supporting Progressive Librarians Since 1998’ (see http://libr.org/), and ISC resides within this.
Furthermore, Rory recently became an Advisory Member of the Editorial Board of Information for Social Change
In addition, Rory serves on the Council of the American Library Association (ALA) and is a member of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table's Action Council. He has also served as a member of the editorial board of Progressive Librarian and on the Coordinating Committee of the Progressive Librarians Guild.
Further information about Rory Litwin is available from the ISC website
(under Profiles section, Rory Litwin - http://www.libr.org/isc/profile.html#rl)
4. FOUNDING A LIBRARY: ANOTHER REPORT FROM THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM (WSF) IN NAIROBI, BY MIKAEL BŐŐK, APRIL 2007
RUTH RIKOWSKI
This News Update consists of a number of interesting and important news items that have been brought to my attention over the last week or so, from a variety of sources.
1. "SAVE AND BURN" –
FILM ABOUT LIBRARIES, BEING SHOWN AT THE BARBICAN
Documentary on the libraries' role as the guardians of culture
3 May 2007, 18.15 Cinema 3
Directed by Julian Samuel, 2004 (80 mins)
This film is to be shown at the Barbican, London. See:
http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/event-detail.asp?ID=5747
This is part of the London Palestine Film Festival, 2007 http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/series.asp?id=409
Tickets: £6.50 Standard/ £5 concessions
Special offer: book 3 films for £15
‘Save and Burn’ looks at how libraries are confined by the ideologies of their time and place.
Within this, it considers the commercialization of libraries, the irresponsible weeding and closing of libraries, the excesses of copyright law, and the unrecognized impact of the Orient on Western cultural heritage. Samuel’s interviews a range of senior librarians and collectors on a variety of topics, including the impact of the Patriot Act on libraries in the US today.
It says on the Barbican website that:
“This strikingly shot and intellectually commanding work includes exquisite footage of the Alexandrian Library, the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, and Bromley House in Nottingham.” The second half of the film shows the destruction of libraries and cultural infrastructure in Palestine and Iraq in recent years by Israeli and US-led occupying forces.
I first connected with Julian Samuel, through John Pateman in ISC, back in 2004. Julian sent some material to John, for inclusion in ISC. The material was included in two ISC issues, both edited by John Pateman and myself – Issue No. 20, Winter 2004 (http://libr.org/isc/issues/isc20.pdf)
and Issue No. 22, Winter 2005 (http://libr.org/isc/issues/ISC22a.pdf).
To then discover this week, that one of Julian’s films was being shown at the Barbican was quite something! Also, Julian is coming over from Canada specifically for the showing.
Julian Samuel has directed two films about libraries:
‘Save and Burn’ (2004) and ‘The Library in Crisis’ (2002).
For Further Information about ‘Save and Burn’ see:
Save and Burn: a documentary by Julian Samuel
http://www.ex-centris.com/?s=piece&z=detail&i=4732
Reviews and interviews in English and French
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/saveandburn1.htm
Review of ‘Save and Burn’ by Steve Fesenmaier, in ‘Counterpunch’, 2nd/3rd October 2004: see http://www.counterpunch.org/fesenmaier10022004.html
(this was also promoted in ‘Counterpoise’ – see http://www.civicmediacenter.org/counterpoise/)
Movies about Libraries: Save and Burn etc by Steve Fesanmaier
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/saveandburn2.html
The Library in Crisis
‘The Library in Crisis’ was featured in Information for Social Change, in the Winter 2004 issue, No. 20.
The Library in Crisis, 2002: Introduction to Julian Samuel's documentary film, Information for Social Change, Issue 20, Winter 2004 http://libr.org/isc/articles/20-Library_In_Crisis.html
Vinita Ramani interviews Julian Samuel about ‘The Library in Crisis’ and about some of Samuel's views about life in general, Information for Social Change, Issue 20, Winter 2004
http://libr.org/isc/articles/20-V.Ramani.html
Press Release
“The Library in Crisis (46 minutes, 2002) is a documentary on libraries; historic and contemporary bibliocides; literacy and the French Revolution; libraries morphing into centers of E-commerce; the impact of copyright and the digitization of texts; the Khmer Rouge's catalogues of people killed; and the World Trade Organization's concern for democracy.”
The Filmakers Library website talks about ‘The Library in Crisis’ saying that:
“Dense with the informed commentary of notable scholars, this documentary in effect traces the history of civilization through the phenomenon of the library. From ancient China, India, Islam, and the Graeco Roman world, we see how the library radiated knowledge and spiritual values, and facilitated the cross fertilization of ideas from one culture to another.” http://filmakers.com/indivs/LibraryCrisis.htm
Julian Samuel’s latest film is:
Atheism: a talking-heads documentary, 2006. 72 mins
Further information about the film is available in the ‘Occasional Papers’ section of ISC.
Quotations from Reviews of ‘Atheism’
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/atheism2.html
Atheism: saying goodbye to God - Film Review by Steve Fesenmaier. Sept. 25, 2006
http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/atheism.html
Additional information about Julian Samuel
Julian J. Samuel, is a Montreal Film Director, who was born in Lahore, Pakistan. He has produced and directed short and medium length films and videos. This includes: Black Skin; White Masks (1973-79); Dictators (1982), Resisting The Pharaohs (1984; on the Montréal arms-export industry), and Red Star over the Western Press: Archive; Algeria, 1954-62 (1987). His work has been exhibited in Canada, England and the USA. Julian Samuel has published Lone Ranger in Pakistan (1986), The Raft of the Medusa (with Joceylne Doray) and a novel, Passage to Lahore (1995).
Julian Samuel has also produced, directed and edited: The Raft of the Medusa: five voices on colonies nations and histories (1993); Into the European Mirror (1994); City of the Dead and the World Exhibitions (1995) and Fatwa 447 (1999).
Julian has directed 2 films about libraries specifically: The Library in Crisis (2002) and Save and Burn (2004) and the latest film he has directed is Atheism (2006).
Finally, we have just bought tickets for ‘Save and Burn’ and will be going to see the film at the Barbican this Thursday!
2. WILLIAM MORRIS AND VESTRY HOUSE MUSEUM – ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Following on from the news item about the William Morris Gallery and the Vestry House Museum in my 7th News Update (Item 1), below are some links to further information on the topic. In particular, there was an article about the William Morris Gallery in The Guardian, on 17th April 2007.
Wonderful world: He was a design colossus. We must save the William Morris Gallery, says Jonathan Glancey, The Guardian, Tuesday April 17, 2007
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/design/story/0,,2058882,00.html
News from Waltham Forest: Letters in ‘The Guardian’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,2062379,00.html
Closure threat to Morris museum by Vanessa Thorpe, arts and media correspondent, Sunday Observer, January 28, 2007
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/design/story/0,,2000438,00.html
Wikipedia – information about William Morris Gallery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris_Gallery
Official website to help save William Morris Gallery and Vestry House museum, Walthamstow, Waltham Forest – includes News, Press Coverage, Petition, Downloads and Contacts
http://www.keepourmuseumsopen.org.uk/
3. LENNART WETTMART INTERVIEWS RORY LITWIN FOR BiS
(Bibliotek i Samhälle), 2007 (1)
AND FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT RORY LITWIN
This section contains some information about Lennart Wettmart’s interview with Rory Litwin in BiS, which was referred to in my News Update, No. 9 (item 6). This is followed by some further information about Rory.
In Lennart’s interview with Rory, Rory began by saying that he is a reference librarian at the University of Minnesota in Duluth, Minnesota, which is a college of about 10,000 students in a town of 85,000 people.
Furthermore, in his 10 years in librarianship Rory has been very involved in the community of the ‘Library Left’ – in particular, with the Social Responsibilities Round Table and the Progressive Librarians Guild.
Rory Litwin now has a publishing company, called Library Juice Press LLC - see http://libraryjuicepress.com/. Lennart asked Rory what he thinks is the significant contribution that Library Juice Press can, and is, making to library and information publishing in the USA. Rory explained that Library Juice publishes books generated specifically by the ‘Library Left’. Furthermore, that:
“People in the Library Left have been working on a lot of important ideas for decades, and much of this thinking is ready to be turned into books. These books will provide a record of our thinking and our activity. These books are less ephemeral, or at least seem less ephemeral, than blogs and electronic zines like Library Juice, which has been recording a lot of it. “
Rory talked about some of the other publishers that have published Library Left material, such as Scarecrow Press, McFarland and Neal Schuman. However, Library Juice is different because it is so much smaller and Rory can:
“…look at manuscripts in a much different way.”
Lennart asked Rory what he thinks the position of the ‘Library Left’ is in the USA today. Rory said that:
“The Library Left is in an awkward position in the US today…because we are presenting a radical oppositional posture that we inherited from the social movements of the 60s in a quite different context.”
Rory said that the 60s language is being used to defend “traditional values of American librarianship” at a time when they are being threatened by the mainstream. Rory pointed out the fact that whilst the mainstream library community seems to be fine with the marketisation of libraries, it hates the war in Iraq and the Bush administration. So, there are a lot of contradictions here. Yet, all such contradictions are clearly inevitable whilst we live in capitalism.
Rory then said that he is very proud to be the publisher of Ed D'Angelo’s book, ‘Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education, and the Public Good’, 2006 – see http://libraryjuicepress.com/barbarians.php.
Rory thinks that this book addresses some of the most burning issues in regard to libraries in the USA today. He also referred to his own edited collection: ‘Library Juice Concentrate’.
Rory recommended the following links to students that want to keep up with the ideas of the ‘Library Left’:
Library Juice
http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/
Kathleen de la Peña McCook's blog
http://librarian.lishost.org/
And the Librarian Activist blog, from Canada
http://www.librarianactivist.org/
Rory concluded, by mentioning a couple of books that will be published by Library Juice in the not-too-distant future. One is a collection of articles by members of the board of Information for Social Change, and the other is a biography of French public library pioneer Eugene Morel.
Additional information about Rory Litwin
Rory Litwin published ‘Library Juice’ from 1998-2005. See: http://libr.org/juice/
Note from the editor/publisher about ‘Library Juice’ (taken from ‘Library Juice’ website):
“Library Juice (ISSN 1544-9378) was an irregular, weekly, then biweekly, then, for a moment, monthly electronic zine for librarians, library and information science students, and other interested people, published between January, 1998 and August, 2005. It included discussions, commentary, announcements, humor, web links and news affecting the library world. Much of the material was about librarianship as the servant and protector of the public sphere; intellectual freedom and social responsibility as central to the profession. Library Juice was not a discussion list but a digest of material from a variety of sources. Much of the material came from individual contributors. Library Juice has since resumed life as a blog, as a book and as a book publishing company.” – see http://libr.org/juice/about.html
Thus, the original Library Juice has now ceased publicationas an electronic zine, and is now a blog (http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/) and a book – ‘Library Juice Concentrate’ (http://libraryjuicepress.com/concentrate.php).
Back issues of the biweekly magazine, ‘Library Juice’ published from 1998-2005 are available at: http://libr.org/juice/
The Book: Library Juice Concentrate – Edited by Rory Litwin, Library Juice Press, 2006 (http://libraryjuicepress.com/concentrate.php)
‘Library Juice Concentrate’ is a compilation of the best of Library Juice, which was a record of the ‘Library Left’ during 1998-2005. The book includes essays on topics such as professional neutrality, intellectual freedom, alternative literature, the social effects of technological change and the Cuba debate.
Library Juice Press LLC: books for fresh thinking on libraries, politics and culture – see http://libraryjuicepress.com/. – Rory Litwin’s publishing company for ‘Library Left’ material
Rory also hosts the web space, ‘Libr.org’, which has been ‘Supporting Progressive Librarians Since 1998’ (see http://libr.org/), and ISC resides within this.
Furthermore, Rory recently became an Advisory Member of the Editorial Board of Information for Social Change
In addition, Rory serves on the Council of the American Library Association (ALA) and is a member of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table's Action Council. He has also served as a member of the editorial board of Progressive Librarian and on the Coordinating Committee of the Progressive Librarians Guild.
Further information about Rory Litwin is available from the ISC website
(under Profiles section, Rory Litwin - http://www.libr.org/isc/profile.html#rl)
4. FOUNDING A LIBRARY: ANOTHER REPORT FROM THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM (WSF) IN NAIROBI, BY MIKAEL BŐŐK, APRIL 2007
This report, by Mikael Böök, on the most recent WSF, is available at: http://www.kaapeli.fi/book/founding-a-library.html
Also, in Occasional Papers of ISC http://libr.org/isc/occasional_papers/index.html
Note: An earlier and shorter Swedish version of this article appeared in BiS, 2007/1. It has been translated into English by the author, Mikael Böök.
Mikael begins by noting the fact that a group of librarians (70 East African librarians and others) wanted to document how an alternative world society was being born at the World Social Forum.
Mikael says that:
“The World Social Forum is a document (a proof), which shows that globalization has entered a decisive phase.”
Mikael says that:
“The process of the social forum is worldwide (World Social Forum), continental or regional (Latin American Social Forum, Indian Social Forum, US Social Forum, European Social Forum), country-specific (Finnish Social Forum, Kenya Social Forum), local (Uppsala Social Forum)... The documentation of the process must also be wide-spread over the library networks.”
In regard to ‘Documenting the Nairobi World Social Forum 2007’ (http://www.wsflibrary.org/), the Finnish Embassy in Nairobi supported this pilot project with funding. Furthermore, the background story to the project is told at length in Information for Social Change, Winter Issue 2006-2007 (http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/ISC24_Full.pdf). The issue was edited by Mikael Böök and Shiraz Durrani.
However, as Mikael says:
“…the future of the project is not yet secured. And it is very much only in its beginning stage yet. We must continue to analyse, classify and repackage the materials we collected at the WSF. Further training (of the participating librarians) in wiki-techniques are also needed to improve www.wsflibrary.org...We have promised to present and disseminate the information from the WSF to various library user groups. That, in particular, remains to be done - it will require a new pilot project…”
Note: An earlier and shorter Swedish version of this article appeared in BiS, 2007/1. It has been translated into English by the author, Mikael Böök.
Mikael begins by noting the fact that a group of librarians (70 East African librarians and others) wanted to document how an alternative world society was being born at the World Social Forum.
Mikael says that:
“The World Social Forum is a document (a proof), which shows that globalization has entered a decisive phase.”
Mikael says that:
“The process of the social forum is worldwide (World Social Forum), continental or regional (Latin American Social Forum, Indian Social Forum, US Social Forum, European Social Forum), country-specific (Finnish Social Forum, Kenya Social Forum), local (Uppsala Social Forum)... The documentation of the process must also be wide-spread over the library networks.”
In regard to ‘Documenting the Nairobi World Social Forum 2007’ (http://www.wsflibrary.org/), the Finnish Embassy in Nairobi supported this pilot project with funding. Furthermore, the background story to the project is told at length in Information for Social Change, Winter Issue 2006-2007 (http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/ISC24_Full.pdf). The issue was edited by Mikael Böök and Shiraz Durrani.
However, as Mikael says:
“…the future of the project is not yet secured. And it is very much only in its beginning stage yet. We must continue to analyse, classify and repackage the materials we collected at the WSF. Further training (of the participating librarians) in wiki-techniques are also needed to improve www.wsflibrary.org...We have promised to present and disseminate the information from the WSF to various library user groups. That, in particular, remains to be done - it will require a new pilot project…”
In sum, Mikael is doing some very important and worthwhile work here, I think – recording, documenting and disseminating information about the World Social Forum, which simply put, can be viewed as an alternative voice to the continued domination of global capitalism. I wish him all the very best for the future in regard to this project, and hope that he can secure more funding, thus enabling the project to continue and to expand. If anyone can offer Mikael any help and/or suggestions in this regard, then please contact him at: book@kaapeli.fi.
See: www.wsflibrary.org/index.php/Social_Forum - for links to sites and pages with general information about the World Social Forum.
5. THE COPY/SOUTH DOSSIER READER RESPONSE PROJECT
A message from Alan Story was circulated on 25th April 2007, in regard to the Copy/South Dossier, which is a very important document about copyright issues in the developing world.
I reviewed the Copy/South Dossier for Managing Information and for Information for Social Change. See:
http://www.managinginformation.com/Book%20reviews/bookreviews_thecopysouthdossier.htm and
http://libr.org/isc/issues/ISC23/D4%20Ruth%20Rikowski%20reviewing%20Alan%20Storey%20et%20al.pdf
The full message that is being circulated by email, to those who received a copy of the Dossier, is reproduced below. If you have not already got a copy of the Dossier, information about how to obtain a copy is provided at the end of the message below. Hopefully, some of you will be able to contribute to the discussion.”Dear Reader of the Copy/South Dossier:In May 2006, the 208-page booklet “The Copy/South Dossier: Issues in theeconomics, politics and ideology of copyright in the global South” waspublished. Put together by members of the C/S Research Group, itcontained more than 50 articles giving facts and views on the largelynegative role of copyright in the global South in a variety of areasincluding education, libraries, cultural production, and the economy.The response to the Dossier has been mostly positive --- at least in somecircles ---- and now it is YOUR TURN to give your own opinions on theseand related issues.Starting tomorrow, our research group is going to open up a new section ofour website (http://www.copysouth.org/) and publish the comments, criticisms,and responses of Dossier readers. (Because you requested a copy of theDossier --- and, we hope received it --- you have been sent thismessage.) We would like to receive your views on the Dossier --- and feelfree to say most anything you wish.But we don’t want to have reader responses limited simply to the issuescovered in the Dossier. Certainly we missed important issues. Likely theDossier misunderstood others. And given the fact that we were trying tosketch out and work through complicated issues covering more than 2/3 ofthe world’s population, we no doubt missed many particulars. Tell us andthe world (who has Internet access and who visits the website) about yourown particular circumstances. Or comment on other messages that are posted on the C/S reader response pages.We have already posted four initial reader response comments on our website. They are written by persons on this e-mail list and can be viewed by going to http://www.copysouth.org/ and then click on “Reader Response” and “Read the Reader Responses.”And we should add that the day chosen for the launch of this project isnot coincidental. Tomorrow (26 April) has been dubbed “World IntellectualProperty Day” by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
To mark this day in our own way, we are calling on you (and here we quotefrom our press release) “to take up its slogan --- ‘EncouragingCreativity’ ---- and send in your creative thoughts and opinions on therole of copyright law and ideology in the countries of the global South. “The full release can also be found by following the link on the openingpage of the site labelled “News.”A FEW BRIEF GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF YOUR READER RESPONSE1) Please concentrate on making comments and criticisms (and telling ofyour own experiences) that are connected to copyright-related questions inthe global South. We do not want to lose the focus and have the issuesdiluted by discussions and debate on other matters. In any event, it isalready quite a broad topic.2) You can submit your comments in any of the following languages:English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, German, Italian, or Dutch.(We hope to add additional languages in time.) They will NOT be translatedinto other languages when they are posted on the website.3) Please limit your messages to 600 words. Short messages are often moreeffective. And don’t think you have to compose an article as if it was forpublication in a dull and wordy academic journal. Keep it lively and tothe point!4) Add your own brief headline or title to your comment which we can usefor posting purposes.5) Please include your name and your country of residence when you send inyour comment. These details will, in most cases, be included in yourmessage when it is posted on the website. However, we know that some ofyou work in sensitive jobs and may prefer to have ONLY your country ofresidence (and not your name) listed; tell us and we will respect yourwishes. We will NOT include your e-mail address unless you request that wedo so.
HOW TO SEND IN YOUR READER RESPONSE:
1) Send your message (with your details) to: response@copysouth.org
2) To avoid getting viruses, we prefer receiving plain text e-mails. Wewill then format them in a one standard style for publication/posting.3) We will confirm receipt of all messages and they will be posted onour web pages about 7-10 days after we receive them.IF YOU DON’T HAVE A COPY OF THE DOSSIER (or know someone else who would like one…):We will still have bound copies of the Dossier (with the eight posters) available for mailing. To receive one, send an e-mail message, with yourCOMPLETE postal details, to contact@copysouth.org and we will post to you within 7-10 days.
2) To avoid getting viruses, we prefer receiving plain text e-mails. Wewill then format them in a one standard style for publication/posting.3) We will confirm receipt of all messages and they will be posted onour web pages about 7-10 days after we receive them.IF YOU DON’T HAVE A COPY OF THE DOSSIER (or know someone else who would like one…):We will still have bound copies of the Dossier (with the eight posters) available for mailing. To receive one, send an e-mail message, with yourCOMPLETE postal details, to contact@copysouth.org and we will post to you within 7-10 days.
ONE FINAL MATTER:We should add that a selection of the most illuminating responses to theDossier will be published as a special appendix to the Spanish translationof the Dossier. This translation is now about one/half completed and wehope to make it make available later in 2007. (If you would like to become a volunteer for this Spanish translation project, also contact response@copysouth.org.)We look forward to the launch of what we hope and expect will be a livelyand informative debate.Alan Story forTHE COPY/SOUTH READER RESPONSE PROJECT.http://www.copysouth.org/ “
6. PROPOSED LIBRARY CLOSURES IN WALES
Six communities in Conwy could lose their local libraries under plans by the council to modernise the services. A library review was started in 2006, which has included focus groups, internet blogs and customer comment slips. Conway’s Head of Library Services, Rona Aldrich, argues that the six libraries facing closure had poor physical conditions and/or limited potential for development and that people wanted a different type of library, with more emphasis on I.T. and “more zoning for library areas for particular uses…”
However, from my experience (particularly from working in the public library service in the London Borough of Newham, which also underwent a major Library Review whilst I was employed there), such statements and explanations are often used as simply a means for introducing library cutbacks, and/or for lessening the value and importance of the public library service in some fundamental way. For further information about these proposals in Conwy, see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6598985.stm
Note: Many thanks to Malcolm Richardson, Julian Samuel and Steve Fesanmaier, for providing information for item 1. Also, thanks to Corrina Lotz, Rory Litwin, Mikael Böök, Alan Story and Paul Catherall for providing information for items 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
Best wishes,
Ruth
28th April 2007
6. PROPOSED LIBRARY CLOSURES IN WALES
Six communities in Conwy could lose their local libraries under plans by the council to modernise the services. A library review was started in 2006, which has included focus groups, internet blogs and customer comment slips. Conway’s Head of Library Services, Rona Aldrich, argues that the six libraries facing closure had poor physical conditions and/or limited potential for development and that people wanted a different type of library, with more emphasis on I.T. and “more zoning for library areas for particular uses…”
However, from my experience (particularly from working in the public library service in the London Borough of Newham, which also underwent a major Library Review whilst I was employed there), such statements and explanations are often used as simply a means for introducing library cutbacks, and/or for lessening the value and importance of the public library service in some fundamental way. For further information about these proposals in Conwy, see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6598985.stm
Note: Many thanks to Malcolm Richardson, Julian Samuel and Steve Fesanmaier, for providing information for item 1. Also, thanks to Corrina Lotz, Rory Litwin, Mikael Böök, Alan Story and Paul Catherall for providing information for items 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
Best wishes,
Ruth
28th April 2007
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