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Tequila_Wolf wrote (edited )

In the library chat and between librarians there's regular conversation about what should or shouldn't be on the library. It's mostly an open conversation with precedents based on librarians having curated the space for years. You can join the IRC and follow some of the chats.

It's common for people to submit work and for it to be rejected, for example, because there's a requirement that it's published somewhere else and not just something somebody thought up and posted like the library is their personal blog. But I also know people who have gotten their work on there and who arranged to remove their work from there, for multiple reasons.

Just imagine a small collective of librarians with various anarchist politics doing what they can to maintain and curate the biggest anarchist library in history, usually as just one part of multiple anarchist projects they participate in.

I haven't been following this latest controversy thing because it seems uninteresting. Does someone have a TLDR?

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fortmis OP wrote

Im not even sure the details myself. Maybe I'm blowing things out of proportion, having read a few brief comments here and there about people calling for the removal of certain texts. Which worries me. I think revelations about authors' backgrounds should lead to MORE texts in the library, not fewer.

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rot wrote

why?

(I can think of a few reasons you'd ask)

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fortmis OP wrote

I don't want to see texts taken down because of the author's shadiness. I don't think that's a good way of reckoning with "fallen figures of fame" lol

I would rather the texts stay available and be paired with the necessary informative background info.

What do you think?

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ziq wrote

I think they're librarians, not publishers. It's not their responsibility to do the job of an editor.

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fortmis OP wrote

all the more reason not to pressure them to pick sides in the process of deciding what should be in the library or not, right? I mean I'm not saying mein kampf should be in there, but I am saying that as an anarchist library, removing Emma Goldman seems counter intuitive

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ziq wrote (edited )

The bitter book burners trying to turn librarians into censors need to stfu. The only criteria should be if the piece is anti-authority or related to anarchist culture / history. So obviously, pieces talking about diddling kids don't belong on there because that's pro-authority af. But if the diddler also wrote other pieces that are actually anti-authority, those pieces don't need to be retroactively removed or have disclaimers placed on them.

The recent case of a diddler who stole some random woman's face, used it to promote kiddy diddling and then faked that woman's death is another story because that harms the real unknowing person who was used in his creepy game. And he also fucked over the librarians by trying to manipulate them into posting a fake obituary and kiddy diddling apologia, so they should absolutely retaliate by wiping his whole archive. That's completely justified when someone uses you as a pawn to promote authoritarian shit like diddling and the demonization of an innocent woman whose image and identity was stolen to sell books. Letting the guy roll over them and muddy their credibility as an anarchist library would be counter to any anarchy I'm familiar with.

I've been thinking about removing d4rk's literature from raddle's wiki because it feels like it's gone in an authoritarian direction, but whenever I ask them about it, they say I misunderstood their intention.

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fortmis OP wrote

I've never seen the word diddle in such high per capita use lol
As per everything else, ya interesting point -- that the anarchist library is justified in removing his shit because of how he tried to fuck with them. I like being reminded that relationships matter. And morality isn't the be all end all.

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subrosa wrote

An additional factor is the author 'gaming' the library to their advantage. With most other authors it was readers who deemed the texts worth reading and sharing, enough to bother with an upload. Giving us plenty time to establish a relationship with the text before it gets archived. My takeaway is that the anarchist library should keep its role as publisher very limited, especially with new texts.

When every other text uploaded turns out to be someone's personal manifesto, directly typed into the editor, something's gone a little wrong. It's not a healthy dynamic. For newcomer authors and fresh ideas we should be looking for journals and magazines, blog- and anews posts instead. With the library always a couple months behind.

The library doesn't even any good options for design and formatting, thus ridding every text of at least some qualities. The library is sterile, and its presentation without personality. "Shh! this is a library", now move the conversation elsewhere :P

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fortmis OP wrote

Haha ya totally... To all of this.
And yes dear god what is with the total lack of any attempt at basic type-setting.
I've done some basic formatting and copy editing (another baffling issue, considering many of these documents are available in basic text form elsewhere on the internet SANS errors) for a few texts close to my heart. I wonder if there's a way for me to share those on the library page... Or maybe just here. I'll start a forum called The Nice Looking Anarchist Library no shade

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subrosa wrote

Yeah. Past couple months I've been shifting my focus to editing existing uploads, and honestly it's always a bit embarrassing or disappointing to find popular and supposedly important texts in terrible condition. Missing sections, footnotes bleeding into the main text, etc., thrown up there without any love.

I wonder if there's a way for me to share those on the library page...

Maybe I can assist with something?

Nice Looking Anarchist Library forum

I would lurk for sure.

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fortmis OP wrote

Maybe I can assist with something?

What do you think is the best file type for sharing nice looking texts? Pdf? I can send u some?

I would lurk for sure.

It's an honour :'''')

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subrosa wrote

paired with the necessary informative background info

Who's to decide what's necessary info? And put it where?

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fortmis OP wrote

True. Then maybe people who have knowledge of certain authors' problematic histories can write their own papers about this, to then have it also available on the anarchist library

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rot wrote

real late but yes, i think that would be preferable

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fail wrote

low, luckily

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asere_que_vola wrote

A very vague post and poor framing, but I'll take the bait! What texts are you speaking of, and what is your rationale?

The English project has been using SHH! THIS IS A LIBRARY! forum to discuss this kind of thing if you would like to create something there too: https://shh.anarchyplanet.org/

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