The Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) was founded in

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in January 1990 by

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 concerned with the library profession's "rapid drift into dubious alliances with business and the information industry, and into complacent acceptance of service to an unquestioned political, economic and cultural status quo," according to the organization's statement of purpose. The initial three organizers were Elaine Harger, Mark Rosenzweig and Elliot Shore. The PLG addresses issues especially relating to librarianship and human rights.

''Progressive Librarian''

The Progressive Librarians Guild publishes the journal ''The Progressive Librarian'', a forum for critical perspectives in librarianship and information studies. The journal features articles, book reviews, bibliographies, reports, and documents. The first issue of ''Progressive Librarian'' was published in the summer of 1990 on the heels of the founding of PLG and was given its title by

Sanford Berman Sanford Berman (born October 6, 1933) is a librarian (specifically, a cataloger). He is known for radicalism, promoting alternative viewpoints in librarianship, and acting as a proactive information conduit to other librarians around the world. ...

, who exclaimed that the journal of PLG could have no other title than ''Progressive Librarian'' (the subtitle, ''A Journal of Critical Studies and Progressive Politics in Librarianship'', came later in 1998 with issue #14). The first issue was to be a contribution to the debate taking place within the American Library Association (ALA) in which the upper ranks of power in ALA were attempting to overturn the association's official support of the cultural boycott against apartheid institutions in South Africa. An index for 1990-1999 was published in 2007.

Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize

The Guild annually bestows the Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize to library and information science students attending a graduate level program in the

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who submit a paper based on an aspect of the social responsibilities of librarians, libraries, or librarianship. Papers related to archivists, archives, and archival work are also eligible.

Union Library Workers

The Guild sponsors the blog Union Library Workers and publishes an annual review of librarians and labor in its journal. The ''Progressive Librarian'' article, "Collective Bargaining is a Human Right", summarized librarian involvement in 2011 public sector union protests to defend collective bargaining in Wisconsin. ''Progressive Librarian'' features annual reviews of librarian labor activities.

PLG Discussion List

The Guild sponsors a discussion list
PLGnet.

Statements and resolutions

The Guild has issued statements and resolutions such as: * "PLG Resolution on Divestment of Holdings in Fossil Fuel Companies and Libraries’ Role in a Peaceful Transition to a Fossil-Fuel-Free Economy." June 30, 2013. * "Statement on Censorship and the Tucson Unified School District." January 21, 2012. *"On Wikileaks and the Library of Congress: A Statement by the Progressive Librarians Guild." (2010). *"Calls for Elsevier to End Corrupt Publishing Practices and for Library Associations to Take Advocacy Role on Behalf of Scientific Integrity." (2009) * "Endorsed the Iraq Moratorium." (2007) *"Resolution Against

Anti-Immigrant Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

Legislation." (2006).

Joint Conference of Librarians of Color

The Progressive Librarians Guild was represented at the 2006 Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) with a panel on Librarians and Social Movements. For the 2012 JCLC the ''Progressive Librarian'' #38/39 included a feature on the conference and the five caucus associations of color.

United States Social Forum 2007

In 2007 members of the Progressive Librarians Guild participated in the

United States Social Forum The United States Social Forum is an ongoing series of gatherings of social justice activists in the United States which grew out of the World Social Forum process, bringing together activists, organizers, people of color, working people, poor peopl ...

(USSF) in Atlanta. In homage to the USSF's statement on language accessibility, PLG's new banner read "Library" on one side and "Biblioteca" on the other for the Opening March that launched the first ever regional social forum in the United States. The Librarians program was held at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, the second largest collection of African-American materials in the U.S., located on the very street that is home to the Ebenezer Baptist Church and the gravesites of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King. PLG members collected materials from the USSF for the Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan.

Chapters

As of May 2017, the Progressive Librarians Guild has three active chapters: * London (Ontario) PLG Chapter * St. Kate's PLG Chapter (the College of St. Catherine) * Toronto PLG Chapter The following chapters are no longer active: * Dalhousie University PLG Chapter * Drexel PLG Chapter * Emporia State University PLG Chapter * Indiana University PLG Chapter * Piedmont (SC) PLG Chapter * Vancouver PLG Chapter * SILS PLG Chapter * St. John's University PLG Chapter * Simmons GSLIS PLG Chapter * University of Arizona PLG Chapter * University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign PLG Chapter * University of Missouri PLG Chapter * Wayne State University (Detroit) PLG Chapter

References

External links

Official website

American Library Association Archives, Progressive Librarians Guild papers

Union Library Workers
{{Authority control Library associations in the United States Library associations Organizations established in 1990 Progressive organizations in the United States American librarianship and human rights Library-related professional associations Library-related organizations