I am pasting below an email exchange with Ann Larson from earlier today. I replied to Ann, and included my union colleagues and those who have invited me to speak on these experiences. I am aware she will be waging a public campaign on social media against me and my work. I have her blocked… Continue reading No platform campaign
My Cancer Blog
Why theory?
So many thanks to Karen Nicholson and Maura Seale for inviting me to write the foreword to their fantastic new collection, The Politics of Theory and the Practice of Critical Librarianship. And thanks to Library Juice Press for facilitating open deposit of our chapters! Here’s my contribution.
Are libraries neutral?
I was a commenter for a debate about neutrality in libraries. A copy of my talk is pasted below! Clocked in at 8:02–thank goodness for the big bright timer. I wish I had one with me always.
Libraries in the Context of Capitalism talk
I was so pleased to get to attend METRO’s conference on Libraries in the Context of Capitalism. Highlights for me were Roxanne Shirazi‘s investigation into “value” and what exactly librarians are reproducing when we reproduce the academy through our work. Dan Greene‘s talk on librarians and patrons at the Washington D.C. public library was fascinating… Continue reading Libraries in the Context of Capitalism talk
How do we change the table?
Poking my head above the mid-semester waters to ask this question: how do we change the table? There are two conversations going on in my world that provoke for me the same question: do we want to find ourselves a seat at the table, or do we want an entirely different table? And if we… Continue reading How do we change the table?
What I think about when I think about power
It’s my birthday so my girlfriend took me out to lunch. Over chocolate mousse I asked her what I should do as a 42 year old. Plans? Goals? Intentions? What? Do you want to write a book? Sure. What do you want to write about? Oh man, the loaded question, the one I think about… Continue reading What I think about when I think about power
Things I want to remember about today
There’s a material world, with actual things in it, and actual real things actually matter in it. It feels like being rolled over by a truck because we were just rolled over by a truck. It isn’t hard to make a bully feel bad. At the end of the day you just count it up… Continue reading Things I want to remember about today
What I said in the membership meeting today
I want to begin by saying thank you to the union bargaining team for their steadfast work on behalf of the membership in an extraordinarily difficult environment. I hold Kim Cline and the board of trustees solely responsible for the production of the contract we are facing today, one that attacks the most vulnerable members… Continue reading What I said in the membership meeting today
Voting yes
My life has been about union work since we were locked out at the start of the academic year. I am not on the bargaining team and I am not the president, but I am the secretary, and I am an academic worker at LIU Brooklyn, and the future of the university and the union… Continue reading Voting yes
What’s Critical About Critical Librarianship?
Many thanks to librarians of the Hawaii Library Association and Kapiʻolani Community College for inviting me to talk about critical librarianship last week in Honolulu. The talk came at the end of a week of getting my National Parks Passport stamped, something I really enjoy doing and, if I’m honest, was part of the warrant… Continue reading What’s Critical About Critical Librarianship?