Lowrider Librarian

Please join us on Google Hangouts for a discussion between Yago, Autumn, Max and yourselves! Please follow the URL below on Sunday, Sept. 8th from 6-7 pm PST.

Young indigenous victim of colonial settler terrorism. A whole generation of BIPOC children and college students in the US are being negatively impacted by the climate of fear that is being perpetrated upon them by the unrestrained white-supremacist movement and the government that supports this abomination.  Their mental health, their educations and their lives are all being stunted and slowed down by these racist attacks by settler colonists. According to Zaretta Hammond in her astounding work, "Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain,"  students should be able to feel safe and confident to be able to become a self-sufficient learner.  Becoming a self-sufficient learner means the student becomes involved in their own educational and personal development by reflection and by being warmly challenged by an instructor who has earned their trust.  A dependent learner is always dependent on someone outside themselves to take charge of their education and ...

We are proud to announce the publication of our new book.  Published by Hinchas Press, edited by Yago Cura and Max Macias, designed by Autumn Anglin.  This book is comprised of 6 great chapters of varied Library/Information Science topics.  Our authors are amazing and the content is unlike any other you will find out there. Librarians with Spines Vol. 2 is now available here . Here is the content of the book! Here is what people are saying about the book! Intended audience: LIS Instructors LIS students Academic Librarians Public Librarians Outreach Librarians BIPOC Librarians  Librarians in general Educators who are interested in libraries Everyone

Facebook is a cesspool of invalid information.  Image is public Domain. Dear readers, I used to be a huge proponent of FB.  I am a librarian and early on I realized the potential of social media for networking, sharing information and as a medium for learning.  This is no longer the case. I used to believe FB was a great tool to share information. It is not even a good tool for sharing information.   I am an information professional.  Part of my job is teaching students information literacy.  Here is a definition of Information Literacy that ALA uses: Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."   This has much to do with the the person's ability to search for and find valid information.   Most dictionaries define validity as: "The quality of being logically or factually sound; ...

There is currently a discussion on the librarian Facebook group ALATT concerning cultural appropriation. You should hear some of the rationalizations! Everything from the insulting: "Let me tell you a secret: All Culture is appropriated!" Then people go on to say, "Yes--like agriculture, rock n roll..." and other absurd comparisons. This seemingly funny statement, is passive aggressive to the extreme. These statements belittle people's feelings about their heritage and culture.  This is especially true then aspects of their culture are used in inappropriate manners such as when White people run 'Native American' sweat lodges that allow anyone who pays to come sweat and pray--that is fucking absurd and spits in the face of indigenous tradition! You may be asking yourself, "Why is Max getting all bent out of shape about this?" Please watch this video for a better understanding: I hope more librarians become more empathetic and...

I humbly submit some programming ideas for my friends who work in libraries. Do something different! Constitutional rights workshops Civics workshops How to avoid ICE DACA rights workshops Cannabis Consumer Workshops (In states where it is legal) Medical Cannabis patient workshops How to decolonize Education Activism Workshops Anti-Doxxing Workshops FreeSpeech versus HateSpeech Community Discussions Black History Programming How to monitor the police Patron electronic privacy workshops Marginalized people in Children's literature How to share electronic information anonymously  Ethnic Studies Workshops for local communities Archiving local neighborhood history How to build community How to get involved with local  public cable broadcasting How to publish a book How to blog How to be a neighborhood reporter How to start a news program How to write news articles How to be a public speaker How to listen How to argue How to self-reflect How...

One of the symptoms of being unconsciously inculcated by #Whiteness is the inability to see the experiences of POC as they are lived by POC. When I was teaching my children to be empathetic, I always told them that, When someone asks you to stop something--particularly when they say you are hurting them--you stop what you are doing immediately.  You don't come up with excuses (reasons) why you should be able to continue to hurt them.  You don't continue hurting them. The inability to see other's pain and to listen to them when they tell you about this pain--particularly if you are causing it--indicates a fundamental loss of humanity.  It also indicates a deeply narcissistic quality that seems to border on sociopathy. This is an indication of unsound mental health. A large part of our culture is sick like this. Our nation is unhealthy in this aspect. We should not repress this. We should talk about it, and begin to heal this. Libraries can help with ...

There is a split in libraries.  The split is on the question if Nazis and other racists  can use their rights to terrorize their fellow citizens and still be welcome in our libraries. Racist 'free speech' is a tradition that has been used to create an atmosphere of hate a violence against POC in the US. Of course this is not how this discussion is framed, nor how it is approached in the library community--which is immersed in a culture of Whiteness. It is described as a matter of "Free Speech."  I would agree, but I would clarify this by stating it is a matter of White people's right to terrorize their fellow citizens by using speech which creates an environment of terror for POC in the US. "Jews will NOT replace us!"  is terrifying enough for me to hear, but then I think of the utter terror and alarm it must be raising in my Jewish friends--I share their terror. "All lives matter!" Yelled at my Black friends who are holding a sign...

This is in response to David Lee King's blog post on: http://www.davidleeking.com/ugly-beliefs-free-speech-and-libraries/   What kind of drivel is this? And look at the photo--a photo of a white dude with duct tape on his mouth!!!! Poor White Dude who can't spout his hate! Fuck David Lee King! " We stand for the principle that government and public information shouldn’t depend on the whims of the moment.” Quote from Joseph Jane's article that D quoted. It isn't a fucking 'whim' you asshole--maybe to SOME White people Genocide is a whim, the desire for genocide is a whim, or maybe it is that the potential victims are stating a whim that they don't like to be threatened. It isn't neutral if you are backing the ONE side--the white side. Fuck your founding fathers and their rapist bullshit. Fuck Nazi 'free speech.' It sure would be nice if people like mr. King would fight for POC's rights just as much as he is fighting fo...

 How do these themes impact LIS? How can librarians and other information professionals work to mitigate themes four and five? How can librarians and others work to increase algorithmic literacy? Link to Pew's article Code Dependent:Pros and Cons of Algorithm Age: http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/02/08/code-dependent-pros-and-cons-of-the-algorithm-age/

Buy this book for your Library An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873 (The Lamar Series in Western History)by Benjamin Madley is a book that should be in every library in the US.  This book covers an essential history that has heretofore been neglected save for a few works such as Murder State . Series:  The Lamar Series in Western History Hardcover:  712 pages Publisher:  Yale University Press (May 24, 2016) Language:  English ISBN-10:  0300181361 ISBN-13:  978-0300181364 Product Dimensions:  6.1 x 1.8 x 9.2 inches The book covers the history of the genocide of Indigenous peoples in the state of California from 1846-1873.  During this time, the book traces the beginnings of the genocide from scattered massacres to full scale state and federally sponsored militia and military massacre campaigns.  The sheer brutality and callousness against the indigenous people of Califor...

PRESS RELEASE:

Whiteness tells us our story through the lens of our oppressor? What does this do to truth, validity, information and the construction of knowledge?

[This is the last installment of a three part series on Whiteness.]   Whiteness is a concept that describes the cultural, lingual, institutional beliefs, practices and behavior that maintains access to power and reinforces power for White people and people of lighter skin tones.   This colonial system was created for and by Europeans for the benefit of Europeans. Everything was in relation to the European--this is a hallmark of the concept of Whiteness--that everything is judged in relation to Whiteness and not something else.   Whiteness is embedded in the fabric of everyday life in the US The use of patrols to capture runaway slaves was one of the precursors of formal police forces, especially in the South. Slave patrols were organized groups of three to six white men who enforced discipline upon black slaves during the antebellum U.S. southern states. http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/brief-history-slavery-and-origins-american-poli...