Reference Shelf

Starting a Local Collective

Radical Reference local collectives are independent from one another and from the international group, which admittedly, is mostly dormant right now. (That could change; all it takes is people to make it go!)

Each group can activate/resist/support as it wants, as long as members act by the Rad Ref Points of Unity. Following this photo of some cuties in the Boston collective, here are some general guidelines for getting started:

Radical Reference members' blogs

Radical Reference Members: Please list your blog here, and annotate it if you like. Note: most of the entries are from 2007 and might need updating.

The Freedom Trail on Trial: Resources for the Urbano Project

More information about the Urbano Project & The Freedom Trail on Trial here:
http://urbanoproject.org/artistsProjects.php

Democratic Decision-making Resources

Anonymous. Revolution : a how-to. Retrieved 2011-10-15.

Avery, Michel, et al. Building United Judgement: A Handbook for Consensus Decision Making. Madison, Wisc.: Centre for Conflict Resolution, 1981. Print.

Bruneau, Richard. Participatory Decision-Making in a Cross-Cultural Context. Canada World Youth, 2003. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2011-10-13.

Butler, C T. L, and Amy Rothstein. On Conflict and Consensus: A Handbook on Formal Consensus Decisionmaking. Portland, ME: Food Not Bombs, 1991. Retrieved 2011-10-12.

Researching Corporations, Front Groups, and Corporate Influence on Government

These links can help you research the influence of business (aka big business, corporations, big corporations) on government, the media, and other areas of life. This information is often difficult to find as this kind of influence tends to be exerted through a wide variety of means such as campaign donations, pseudo-grassroots organizations, PR and advertising campaigns, lobbying, professional organizations, research funding (or obstruction thereof), and more.

While every effort has been made to link to sites that present accurate information, it's important to view everything you find with a grain of salt. Interaction between a corporate representative and a government official doesn't necessarily mean explicit corruption. Political scientists and other academics have debated the extent, forms, and impact of corporate influence for decades. These complex issues deserve careful consideration from the people most interested in building a more just world - activists, researchers, and other radicals. Activists and independent journalists can always post their questions on the main page to get further assistance with making the most of these resources.

For now, this guide will focus most of its efforts on US politics - but that can change if you contribute international resources (domestic ones are, of course, also welcome)!

Categories include: For Starters, Lobbying, Interest Groups, Front Groups, Funding/Tax Info, 527s, "Revolving Door", Think Tanks, Wikileaks Cables, US Government Records, Government Contracts, and Money in Medicine & Science

For Starters
Recent LA Times story regarding the failure of many corporations to fully disclose political spending

Feminist Books for Disadvantaged Female Students (and anyone else)

This list began as a brainstorming project on the Radical Reference email list. The original questioner wrote:

BDS: Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions

Below are some links to information on the global movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions.

Composting Resources Online

The following resources were originally posted to the Progressive Librarians Guild discussion list on February 4, 2008 and have been published here with permission from the author, Fred Stoss. It has been edited slightly, but no resources have been removed.

They are divided into Government, Education, and Organizational sites

del.icio.us links--most recent for:radical_reference

Feminist Fact Checking Resources

Originally created for the Women, Action & Media Conference 2008

GLBTQ | International | Pay Equity/Labor | Rape/Sexual Assault | Reproduction | Statistics

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