Wittgenstein and Intellectual Freedom

This article investigates the later philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein from the perspective of Intellectual Freedom in librarianship. The article argues that Intellectual Freedom tends to be informed by individualism and linguistic idealism. This in turn limits IF to advocacy rather than social change and thereby supports and maintains the oppressive racial and gender structures of capitalism. Following an outline of the philosophical foundations of Intellectual Freedom, the article investigates Wittgenstein’s challenge to language as an individual faculty and the constraints on the idea of freedom that follows from it. Wittgenstein’s recognition that languages are social conventions put to particular social uses opens up a collective approach to language and Intellectual Freedom conducive to the material transformation of real social conditions

Libraries, Labour, Capital: On Formal and Real Subsumption

This article looks at librarianship from a Marxist economic perspective, arguing that crises within the profession are due to material changes in the organization of production and labour relations. These changes are part of a transition from one “regime of accumulation” (industrial, Fordist, Keynesian) to another (neoliberal). The article suggests that any choice made to address these changes leads us further into relations of commodification which worsen the crises we face, and that only fundamental changes to the social, political, and economic system in which we work and live will solve the problems we currently face

Libraries, Labour, Capital: On Formal and Real Subsumption

This article looks at librarianship from a Marxist economic perspective, arguing that crises within the profession are due to material changes in the organization of production and labour relations. These changes are part of a transition from one “regime of accumulation” (industrial, Fordist, Keynesian) to another (neoliberal). The article suggests that any choice made to address these changes leads us further into relations of commodification which worsen the crises we face, and that only fundamental changes to the social, political, and economic system in which we work and live will solve the problems we currently face

Libraries, Labour, Capital: On Formal and Real Subsumption

This article looks at librarianship from a Marxist economic perspective, arguing that crises within the profession are due to material changes in the organization of production and labour relations. These changes are part of a transition from one “regime of accumulation” (industrial, Fordist, Keynesian) to another (neoliberal). The article suggests that any choice made to address these changes leads us further into relations of commodification which worsen the crises we face, and that only fundamental changes to the social, political, and economic system in which we work and live will solve the problems we currently face

Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown (Book Review)

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La bibliothéconomie canadienne et les politiques de reconnaissance

Recent controversies in Canadian librarianship—the Toronto Public Library room rental to a "gender-critical feminist" group and the institution of “airport-style” security at the Winnipeg Public Library—have exposed divisions within the profession. This article attempts to untangle the relationship of Canadian libraries to state power and explores hegemonic leadership within the library profession. It also investigates the part played by a politics of recognition, both in the reinforcement of professional discipline and in the maintenance of the social, political, and economic status quo regarding the rights and democratic participation of marginalized communities. The paper begins with a brief account of recent controversies, looks at intellectual freedom, and then analyzes the ways in which politics of recognition play out in libraries and settler-colonial societies. Based on Taylor’s theory of recognition and its critique by Coulthard and Fraser, this article argues that, within the context of a needed refoundation of social relations, recognition must be combined with real redistribution of rights and participation.Les polémiques récentes au sein de la bibliothéconomie canadienne telles la location d’une salle de la Bibliothèque publique de Toronto à une groupe féministe « critique du genre » ou la mise en place d’un système de sécurité similaire à celui d’un aéroport à la Bibliothèque publique de Winnipeg ont exposées des divisions profondes au sein de la profession. Cet article tente de démêler la relation des bibliothèques canadiennes avec le pouvoir de l’État et explore le leadership hégémonique au sein de la profession. Il examine également le rôle joué par une politique de reconnaissance, tant dans le renforcement de la discipline professionnelle que dans le maintien du statu quo social, politique et économique concernant les droits et la participation démocratique des communautés marginalisées. L’article commence avec une présentation sommaire de récentes polémiques, offre un survol de la liberté intellectuelle et procède à analyser comment une politique de la reconnaissance se joue dans les bibliothèques et les sociétés coloniales. S’appuyant sur la théorie de la reconnaissance de Taylor et d’une critique de celle-ci par Coulthard et Fraser, cet article défend l’idée que, dans le cadre d’une nécessaire refonte des relations sociales, la reconnaissance doit être combinée à une réelle redistribution des droits et de la participation

Coding and Professional Development -Part 2: A Case Study of Grassroots Change

This article looks at concrete examples of grassroots organizations and initiatives that foster and support professional development in coding for library workers. Cet article présente des exemples concrets d’organismes et d’initiatives communautaires qui encouragent et appuient le développement professionnel en programmation des employés des bibliothèques

Coding and Professional Development-Part 1: A Study in Contradictions

This article is a critical examination of discourses around the democratization of software development skills. It critiques the idea of a "pipeline problem" in software development, while offering a theoretical perspective on class and gender bias in the adoption of programming skills. Cet article offre un examen critique du discours sur la démocratisation des compétences en développement de logiciels. Il critique la notion de « problème de pipeline » en développement de logiciels tout en offrant une perspective théorique sur les préjugés sexistes et de classe quant à l’adoption des compétences en programmation