Class and Librarianship: Essays at the Intersection of Information, Labor and Capital

by Erik Estep (Editor), Nathaniel F. Enright (Editor)

The current crisis of capitalism has led to the renewed interest in Marxism and its core categories of analysis such as class and exploitation. In our own discipline - Library and Information Science - voices and ideas that have long been confined to the critical margins have been given buoyancy as forms of critique have gained traction. This volume allows for a fresh look at at the interaction of information, labor, capital, class, and librarianship.

Genres: Librarianship

188 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2016

Reviews

[amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good introductory title to teach with/from in library schools, iSchools, whatever. Especially strong chapters: Alexandra Carruthers connecting the history of "women's work" in public libraries to our current "precariat"; Amanda Bird & Braden Cannon explaining some of the factors that keep information workers from organizing; and Toni Samek on "crisis talk" in Canadian academic libraries. Carey Sias' chapter on pro se patrons in law libraries is a solid overview but doesn't even mention digital divide as an issue (much less a *class* issue) in the provision of "innovative" "emerging technology" services — which is a missed opportunity.

[Paschalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

All chapters were very interesting and related to the titled but not the last one so much.