PLG London Statement of Support for Dale Askey

Progressive Librarians Guild London Chapter is very concerned about the recent lawsuit filed against Associate University Librarian Dale Askey and his employer McMaster University by Edwin Mellen Press (EMP) for alleged libel and defamation. Mr. Askey stated his professional opinion on a personal blog about the quality of publishing by EMP. Assessing the quality of materials and expressing opinions, whether of a positive or negative nature, is one of the basic expectations of a professional librarian.

Progressive Librarians Guild London Chapter strongly supports Mr. Askey as he faces this challenge. We commend McMaster University for backing Mr. Askey and standing up for the academic rights of its faculty and librarians. We urge all academic institutions and fellow professional librarians to unite and take a stand against this affront to academic freedom.

Freedom of expression is a requirement for a democratic society and is a value held by Canadians. Thus, EMP’s aggressive tactics toward the stifling of this fundamental right are deeply troubling. We condemn EMP for this lawsuit and urge them to withdraw their claims against both Mr. Askey and McMaster University.

The Progressive Librarians Guild (London Chapter)
Dated 1 March 2013

PLG Speech to City Budget Public Participation Meeting

On Monday night PLG London member Andrew Lockhart spoke in defence of the London public library system at a public participation meeting at city hall. PLG London will be continuing to protest the council’s “road to zero” budget freeze plan. If you want to get involved, come to our meetings or send us an email.

Call for Submissions

Call for Submissions

PLG London is looking to release a collection of writing relating to the cuts to Library and Archives Canada.

If you have a paper that relates to the LAC cuts or another aspect of LAC’s new service delivery model—whether it is about issues surrounding digitization, the effect of budget cuts on institutions, or New Public Management—please send it to plglondon@gmail.com. 

We know that there are lots of great papers being written by the FIMS LIS students and we hope that you are willing to share them. There’s no need to feel intimidated—all students, (regardless of their age, experience, or place in the program) are encouraged to submit. 

We will edit the papers with you with the intention of publishing them on our blog and as an eBook.

Andrew Lockhart
Secretary, PLG London

Bibliography: Library and Archives Canada cuts

Members of PLG London have been following the discussion concerning LAC cuts and keeping a list of articles relating to the topic.

We decided to share the list to encourage discussion and to help MLIS students who will be writing papers over the Spring term.

You’ll find articles, position statements, and Parliamentary proceedings where LAC was discussed.

Please send any articles you think are significant that we may have missed to plglondon@gmail.com and we will add them to the bibliography.

John Dupuis published a list of articles relating to the cuts in September 2012 that is chronological and more exhaustive for the period it covers.

PLG London – A(n Updated) Primer

What has PLG London accomplished since it was founded in September 2011?  Here is a list of PLG London position statements, past events, and activities!

About PLG London
PLG London has a Blog
About PLG London

2011 Western Librarians and Archivists Strike
Statement of Support
MLIS Student Petition to Support Western Librarians and Archivists

CLA Inaction
The Canadian Library Association’s Failure to Advocate for Librarians and Libraries
Response to CLA Executive’s Draft Mission Statement

Access Copyright License
Objection to the Access Copyright Licensing Agreement at the University of Western Ontario
Access Copyright Statement
Access Copyright: What does it mean for Western? A Librarian’s Guide
Access Copyright Banner

Library and Archives Canada Cuts
Statement on Library and Archives Canada Cuts
UWO Funeral for Archival Funding in Canada
Photos from the Archival Funeral

Internet Filtering Debate at the London Public Library
Statement on Filtering
PLG Mentioned in the London Free Press

Past PLG London Events
Beige Alert – Library Neutrality Discussion
Ethnicity and Gender in Libraries
Getting Out of the Stacks – Community Collaboration
History of the PLG Talk
Monthly PLG Pub Night Discussions
Sex and the Library

2012 Statistics

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

We received 8,700 views over the course of the year.

New PLG London members can checkout our stats and some of our popular posts.

Click here to see the complete report.

Our Two Bits, a Magic Wand, and Access to Information

“Members of the Canadian Library Association have the individual and collective responsibility to:… 3. facilitate access to any or all sources of information which may be of assistance to library users…” Canadian Library Association Position Statement on Code of Ethics

The London Chapter of the Progressive Librarians Guild is pleased to have made a submission to the Information Commissioner of Canada who has been conducting a public consultation on the Access to Information Act.  Here’s the PLG’s submission.

One of the things we say in our submissions is: “we see the Access to Information Act as a kind of magic wand that transforms government institutions into something akin to public libraries.”

You can read all submissions here.

If you’d like to see what people have been “checking out” from the federal departments through the Access to Information Act, take a look here.