Skip to Main Content

Equity & Social Justice Advisory Group Resources: Social Justice and Librarianship

Last Updated: Oct 3, 2024 2:18 PM

Introduction

"According to Wikipedia, information access is considered a "linchpin right" on which other human rights depend, because information is essential for supporting an informed citizenry that knows what their rights are and what their government is doing, or not doing, to respect those rights.[7]:72 Free and equal access to information also supports lifelong learning for all, whether for personal enrichment, building individual capabilities or for fulfillment of a goal, such as starting a business, learning new software, discovering cultural history or finding healthcare.[2]:69

Equity of access, which is a key action area of the ALA,[9] is central to the philosophy of librarianship. All people, "regardless of age, education, ethnicity, language, income, physical limitations or geographic barriers," should have access to the information they need.[10] Among the many ways in which librarians work to serve all populations are by working to eliminate barriers to service, providing materials in different languages, hiring bilingual and bicultural staff, and offering literacy instruction and ESOL courses. The ALA has policies addressing free access by all, including minors, LGBT, people with disabilities, the imprisoned, people living in poverty, cultural minorities, homeless people, immigrants, and people of all ages.[2][3]:349 ALA policy also addresses diversity in terms of equity of access to information resources, services and technologies, especially for those who face language, cultural and other barriers.[11]

The ALA's adoption of "social responsibility and the public good" as a core organizational value[9] suggests that librarians have a responsibility to resist threats to intellectual freedom and advocate for democratic principles and human rights; and to address through social action the root causes of such problems as discrimination, poverty and homelessness, which are barriers to full and equal participation.[12][13][14]:57 "

Wikipedia contributors, “American Librarianship and Human Rights,” Wikipedia, June 6, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_librarianship_and_human_rights.

Related Resource Guides

Books about Library Neutrality

Humanizing LIS Education and Practice book cover

Humanizing LIS Education and Practice

Humanizing LIS Education and Practice: Diversity by Design demonstrates that diversity concerns are relevant to all and need to be approached in a systematic way.

Dali, Keren, and Nadia Caidi. Humanizing LIS Education and Practice: Diversity by Design. 1st edition, vol. 1, Routledge, 2021, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429356209.

Libraries Promoting Reflective Dialogue in a Time of Political Polarization book cover

Libraries Promoting Reflective Dialogue in a Time of Political Polarization

Reflective dialogue asks us to pause before reacting, to ground ourselves in a sense of compassion for ourselves and others, and to use that grounding to open a space to listen and to speak with the goal of recognizing a shared humanity and appreciating difference. In four sections, Libraries Promoting Reflective Dialogue in a Time of Political Polarization explores the various ways in which librarians experience and respond to political polarization and its effects, both in our everyday work and in our professional communities.

Baer, A., Cahoy, E. S., & Schroeder, R. (Eds.). (2019). Libraries promoting reflective dialogue in a time of  political polarization. Association of College and Research Libraries.

Unfinished Business : race, equity, and diversity in library and information science education book cover

Unfinished Business : race, equity, and diversity in library and information science education

"In the wake of the fiftieth anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, Unfinished Business: Race, Equity, and Diversity in Library and Information Science Education provides evidence that few, if any, library and information science (LIS) programs were ever integrated. With an impressive cast of contributors that includes experienced faculty and students, Unfinished Business tackles the issue of diversity from three distinct perspectives: external and environmental forces, student recruitment, and faculty/curriculum issues."

Wheeler, M. B. (2005). Unfinished business : race, equity, and diversity in library and information science education. Scarecrow Press.

Librarianship and Human Rights book cover

Librarianship and Human Rights

In this book, the reader will encounter a myriad of urgent library and information voices reflecting contemporary local, national, and transnational calls to action on conflicts generated by failures to acknowledge human rights, by struggles for recognition and representation, by social exclusion, and the library institution's role therein. These voices infuse library and information work worldwide into social movements and the global discourse of human rights, they depict library and information workers as political actors, they offer some new possibilities for strategies of resistance, and they challenge networks of control. 

Samek, T., & Gariepy, K. D. (2007). Librarianship and human rights : a twenty-first century guide. Chandos Publishing.

Intersectionality

Library Neutrality and Vocational Awe

Social Justice in Libraries

License