Book review: Librarianship and human rights
Title of Book Librarianship and human rights: a twenty-first century guide
Author Toni Samek
ISBN 1843341468
Publisher Chandos Publishing
Publisher Website http://www.chandospublishing.com
Reviewer Name Michele Hilton Boon
Title Information Officer
Contact Details Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network
28 Thistle Street, Edinburgh EH2 1EN
Email michele.hiltonboon@nhs.net
Review
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) is one of the great human documents of the twentieth century. In the aftermath of two world wars and the Holocaust, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted this declaration and its 30 articles in the belief that, as stated in the Preamble, “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world” (1). Several of the articles have direct connections with library and information work. Article 19, on freedom of opinion and expression, is cited in IFLA’s definition of its core values. The learning and training roles performed by librarians support Article 26, concerning the right to education. Health librarians and information specialists also contribute to the achievement of Article 25, which states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including ... medical care and necessary social services...” (1). Thinking about the connection between our professional work and human rights is fundamental to understanding the importance of what we do and the importance of doing it well; it should inspire us and help us to see the value of our work in society.
Thus, Toni Samek’s book, the first monograph on the subject of librarianship and human rights, is an important contribution to the profession. Samek is passionate and sincere in her argument that librarians and information workers “play an important role in preserving and supporting the ideals of tolerance, democracy, human rights and collective memory” (2). To fulfil this role, Samek argues, librarianship cannot be a culturally or politically neutral profession; rather, she posits the library as “a point of resistance” and portrays library and information workers as “participants and interventionists in social conflicts” (2).
Accordingly, the book reflects a political philosophy, described in part as “critical librarianship”, that criticises globalisation, capitalism, and the “techno-managerial” approach to librarianship as threats to cultural diversity, information ethics, and intellectual freedom. Whether you fully agree with this philosophy or not, I am certain that engaging with this book will make you think about what your philosophy of librarianship is, how it has been shaped and re-shaped throughout your professional experiences, and what the relationship between your professional life and the larger world is and could be.
Only about 30 pages of text comprise the ‘essay’ section of the book, which articulates the relationship between librarianship and human rights and explains in detail the related concepts of information ethics and global information justice. The majority of the 200-page book reflects Samek’s efforts to catalogue, and provide examples of, “specific forms of social action for social change” (2) that have been used in the library context. Each form of action – ranging from bookmobiles to law reform, from merchandising to manifestos – is followed by a definition, usually taken from Wikipedia or the OED, and text describing one or two examples, which are mainly copied and pasted from web documents describing the action. The definitions can be pedantic at times – for example, when citing ‘music’ as a form of social action, the text offers the OED definition of music, as if anyone with the vocabulary to read this book wouldn’t know the meaning of the word, or indeed of the word ‘book’. Although I would have preferred the omission of unhelpful definitions, and a narrative rather than a catalogue, this section is successful in presenting an array of ideas and actions, taken from a diversity of countries, cultures and organisations, that provide bounteous inspiration for social action within the context of library and information work.
Within the descriptions of 97 types of social action, I counted three examples taken from health librarianship, two of which involved AIDS information. However, I don’t believe the lack of specificity for the health field should make this book any less interesting or useful to health librarians. On the contrary, the field is open for us to think of ways to contribute to the essential and ongoing work described in this necessary, important, and long-overdue book.
References
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1948. [cited 5 June 2007]. Available from: URL: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
- Samek T. Librarianship and human rights: a twenty-first century guide. Oxford: Chandos Publishing; 2007.