An information activist is someone who works to make information available to the general population. According to Anthony Molaro, "An information activist is a vigorous advocate of knowledge gained through study, communication, research or instruction". Information activism at

libraries A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and among

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

s began in the 1960s, when many libraries advocated for the information rights of their clients. Their activism projects thereafter extended beyond library walls to advocate for issues such as

tenancy A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...

and

labour rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

. With the advent of new

information technologies Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

and the

information explosion The information explosion is the rapid increase in the amount of published information or data and the effects of this abundance. As the amount of available data grows, the problem of managing the information becomes more difficult, which can lead ...

of the late 20th century, information activism expanded in scope to include people who utilize information in the service of advocacy. Tactical Technology Collective has proposed a definition of information activism as “the strategic and deliberate use of information within a campaign” which specifically refers to the use of publicly available information in activist projects. Information activists take on many projects to work to remove barriers and provide access to knowledge for all people. Information activism can take on many different forms and be used in many different fields including in librarianship, in archiving, and in activist projects.

In librarianship

Carla Hayden Carla Diane Hayden (born August 10, 1952) is an American librarian and the 14th Librarian of Congress. Since the creation of the office of the Librarian of Congress in 1802, Hayden is both the first African American and the first woman to hold t ...

was quoted describing librarians of today as people "who are activists, engaged in the social work aspect of librarianship ... Now we are fighters for freedom, and we cause trouble! We are not sitting quietly anymore."

Library Juice Press

Library Juice Press is a publisher that specializes in theoretical and practical issues in librarianship from a critical perspective, for an audience of professional librarians and students of library science. They began as the webzine and blo
Library Juice
and still hold no affiliations to an academic institution. Some topics they investigate are: library philosophy, information policy, library activism, and in general anything that can be placed under the rubric of "critical studies in librarianship."
Library Juice Press is an imprint of Litwin Books, LLC.

In archiving

Interference Archive Interference Archive is a volunteer-run library, gallery, and archive of historical materials related to social and political activism and movements. It is located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, at 314 7th St, Brookly ...

is a collectively-run archive in Brooklyn, New York that opened in December 2011. The Archive “explores the relationship between cultural production and social movements.” They are a volunteer driven archive whose mission is to bring attention to and honour the history of activist movements, which are often ignored by mainstream institutions. Their collection includes books, prints, music, moving images, and ephemera that were produced by various social movements. Since 2011, Interference Archive has expanded their collection of activist materials, hosted sixteen public exhibitions, written four publications, given over one hundred talks and workshops, and held various film screenings.

In activist projects

The

Tactical Technology Collective Tactical Tech (est. 2003) is an international nongovernmental organization that engages with citizens and civil-society organisations to explore and mitigate the impacts of technology on society. Since 2012, the organisation has been based in Berl ...

is an nongovernmental organization that works to “advance the use of information and digital technologies by advocates and activists worldwide” The organization runs a number of information activism projects including the 10 Tactics for Turning Information into Action, 10 Tactics Revisited, and the Info Activism Camp. Their two 10 Tactics campaigns are both a film and a project which aims to link the ways in which information and information technologies have been used in social movements. In particular, information is used to “monitor the state, corporations, and powerful social institutions,” hold them accountable, and promote local and global activism. The Info Activism Camp exists as space to bring together activists from around the world to develop information activism techniques."The Idea." Evidence & Influence, Info-Activism Camp. https://camp2013.tacticaltech.org/idea

References

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External links