A workshop about the commons in libraries
with Shannon Mattern
Particularly in this age of privatisation and political fragmentation, of data capture and environmental extraction, public libraries seem to offer a beacon of hope, embodying both an intellectual and social commons. Libraries make knowledge resources and services - and the technologies required to access them - freely available to the public. However, when we take a closer look at the systems, structures and stakeholders that converge at the library − everything from research databases to magazines, and everyone from celebrated authors to people in the socio-economic margins − the challenges of creating and sustaining the idea of a Library Commons become readily apparent. In this workshop we’ll map out the different dimensions of a library that may qualify as commons: the creation of knowledge; its materialisation and distribution in various media; the technical frameworks and tools that activate its transfer; the critical acumen and linguistic proficiency required to engage with these resources in a way that is both smart and safe; the physical space that hosts these activities; the land on which everything sits; and so on. We’ll also consider the obstacles thrown up by different geographic, political, economic and technological contexts and regimes and how we might overcome these challenges by building solidary infrastructures and shared collections.
The workshop takes places at Atelier KANAL, Square Sainctelette 12, 1000 Brussels. Tea will be served from 16:30 and the workshop starts at 17:00. Shannon Mattern will join us by video call. The workshop is free and in English. It is intended for librarians and library enthusiasts. Please fill out this form to register. The cycle about Commons in Libraries includes a roundtable, a reading salon and a workshop.
Shannon Mattern is the Penn Presidential Compact Professor of Media Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the Director of Creative Research and Practice at the Metropolitan New York Library Council. Her research and teaching focus on media architectures and infrastructures and spatial data, and she’s written books on libraries, maps and urban intelligence. You can find her at wordsinspace.net.
