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Submitted by JessaL on Wed, 10/23/2013 - 6:29pm
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Since 2006, Radical Reference has been providing online reference services to activists, journalists and researchers who requested help looking for information and resources. Over the years, we've answered questions that have ranged in scope from mail tampering in prison to the history of radical education to the future of librarianship. Yet as we’ve evaluated the quality and efficacy of this service, we’ve been confronted with difficulties of providing in-depth answers in a timely way. As a result, we've decided collectively to suspend this service indefinitely.
This decision was not reached easily, as for many of us, answering reference questions has been a vital part of fulfilling the Radical Reference mission statement of supporting activist communities, progressive organizations, and independent journalists by providing professional research support, education, and access to information. Nevertheless, we've decided to suspend reference services in order to concentrate on other areas of activism, including connecting activists to librarians on a local level, maintaining and developing information resources on the website, and using social media to connect people interested in information activism.
For general online reference support, we can point you to ASK NYPL, your local public library, the Internet Public Library, or Ask MetaFilter.
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Submitted by JessaL on Sat, 12/13/2014 - 12:03am
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Tomorrow is a international day of action for demanding social justice in the wake of systemic disregard for black lives. We've pulled together some reading sources for people interested in learning more about social justice, race and the police. Feel free to add more in the comments, see you in the streets!
Blog posts and online news media
Colorlines. (2014, October 14). Race, policing and civil rights: A community town hall. Retrieved from http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/10/watch_town_hall_on_race_policing_and_civil_rights_in_the_us.html
Video of a community meeting in Brooklyn, featuring panelists Esmeralda Simmons, Center for Law & Social Justice, Medgar Evers College; Lumumba Bandele, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement; Jumaane Williams, City Council Member; Rinku Sen, Race Forward (publisher of Colorlines); Linda Sarsour, Arab American Association; and Anthony Miranda, Latino Officers Association.
Garza, A. (2014, October 7). A herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Retrieved from
http://thefeministwire.com/2014/10/blacklivesmatter-2/The origin story of the #BlackLivesMatter, which started with the organizing efforts of three black queer women.
TRGGR Radio. Weekly radio broadcast. http://trggradio.org/ Topics covered in recent episodes include: reports from protests and actions in Ferguson & western Massachusetts, student activism, prison abolition and activism, movements for solidarity with Palestine and Cuba, and updates from Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Academic articles and policy reports
Amnesty International. (2014, October 24). On the streets of America: Human rights abuses in Ferguson. Retrieved from http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/on-the-streets-of-america-human-rights-abuses-in-ferguson
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Submitted by JessaL on Thu, 04/03/2014 - 7:28pm
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Tomorrow is 404 Day, an effort from the Electronic Frontier Foundation to raise awareness of online censorship in libraries and public schools. They’re running an online info session today at noon, PST, and they’ve reached out to librarians and information professionals to share experiences with online censorship.
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Submitted by MRM on Thu, 01/23/2014 - 9:00am
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Know Your Dossier: FBI Files and FOIA Requests
Saturday, February 8, 2014, 2-4pm
The Commons, 388 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn
(A/C/G to Hoyt- Schermerhorn; B/D/N/Q/R/2/3/4/5 to Atlantic Ave)
The specter of the surveillance state looms over every aspect of radical organizing and community building. For most of us, Edward Snowden's revelations only confirmed what we suspected all along; the state has access to almost everything we create electronically, and they have the capacity and will to retain it indefinitely. Yet all surveillance is not created equal, and it's useful to remember that while we may never know the full extent of the information collected from us, FOIA, FOIL, and sunshine laws do entitle the public to see the investigative files collected on us.
Join Radical Reference and Mutant Legal for a night of information sharing and collective information seeking about the state of state surveillance and how to obtain your FBI files. Paper, envelopes, and snacks will be available by donation!
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Submitted by lia on Thu, 10/03/2013 - 9:48am
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On August 25th, 2013, we had a conference call to discuss the future of Radical Reference. 8 members participated in the call.
These are the action items created during the meeting:
Action item: Jessica will draft language for sending out on the list and putting on the website (re: suspending reference question answering on the site)
Action item: Asking James or another website-savvy person about disabling or altering the submission form.
Action item: Looking for someone to put together the website-focused call, ideally with folks with tech experience and an interest in working on the website
Action item: Send out a call for FB and Twitter updaters.
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Submitted by jenna on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 10:31am
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I know this isn't exactly a Radical Reference topic, but I just need to say this publicly somewhere. I hate Grey House Publishing. Actually, I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other about their publications, what I despise is their obnoxious telemarketing campaign. I've now had unpleasant conversations with 4 different callers in the space of maybe 6 months and have twice asked to be removed from their call list. Today I sent an e-mail. We'll see if it takes.
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Submitted by lia on Fri, 04/19/2013 - 12:04pm
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What a fun meeting we had! We bowled duckpin style and didn't really talk in a group about Radical Reference, but many nice interactions and conversations were had. Thank you all for joining us, and being a part of RR!
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UPDATED INFO! Are you going to ACRL? then come to the Rad Ref meeting on Wednesday at 7:30at Fountain Square. There will be DUCKPIN BOWLING, and we will talk about projects we are working on or things we want to do, or explain what we are all about and more. We'll meet in the End of the Line Public House for the meeting (and eating if you desire)portion and then move to bowling when we are done!
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Submitted by jenna on Tue, 12/11/2012 - 10:32am
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The Lesbian Herstory Archives (located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NYC) is looking for graduate and undergraduate students who are interested in library and/or archives with a demonstrated interest in Lesbian Studies, History and Activism.
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Submitted by jenna on Sun, 12/09/2012 - 9:06pm
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Some members of Radical Reference are involved in this trip:
A delegation of librarians, archivists, and other library workers will travel to Palestine in the summer of 2013. We will connect with our colleagues in library- and archive-related projects and institutions there, applying our experience in the form of skillshares and other types of joint work. We will travel as truth-seekers and information-skeptics, eager to dispense with the superficial and inaccurate portrayals of life in Israel/Palestine that we see in the west and to learn about the realities of life under occupation and apartheid. As library workers, we support access to information, and recognize that this goes in more than one direction. Our trip will shed light on how Palestinian voices and information about Palestine reach us (or do not) and how Palestinian people access (or cannot access) information. We will bear witness to the destruction and appropriation of information, and support efforts to preserve cultural heritage and archival materials in Palestine. Upon return to our communities, we will share what we have seen, apply what we have learned, publicize projects we have visited, and otherwise break down barriers to access in any way we can.
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Submitted by jenna on Fri, 11/09/2012 - 5:15pm
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Interference Archive work day, Sunday November 18, 12-5
131 8th st. #4, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (2 blocks from F/G/R trains at 4th ave./9th st.)
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