Librarianship as a form of political and social activism

Abstract

Let us keep in mind, first and foremost, that Social Librarianship is this necessary vision that the information professional today must have, in the environment where he/she is, from his/her activism in favor of the community - especially the most disadvantaged or vulnerable communities - questioning many terms to traditional librarianship - in terms of its structure. Its episteme and praxis must be adapted to always provide the best services, because Librarianship IS social by nature. The places of intervention are almost always related to public libraries, but they are not only assigned to these spaces. According to the question you ask me, to establish a place of intervention in a university library, for example, is to reflect: what is my vulnerable community in my university or in my faculty? Not only by race, religion, sexual orientation, but also by information needs. For example, in the library where I work, the School of Dentistry, there are unmet information needs of the Dental Assistant community. They represent the most vulnerable community because they are the smallest. Based on previous studies we carry out, we manage the most relevant information resources, in Spanish, for that community. That is the way to transform: identify the community, plan resources and services to successfully carry them out.