SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

The USSF 2010 which will take place in Detroit  has a Planning Wiki.

Detroit USSF local organizing efforts are facilitated by  five "anchor" organizations:

• Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) 
• Centro Obrero de Detroit
• Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice
• East Michigan Environmental Action Council
• Southeast Michigan Jobs With Justice

 

Report at Radical Reference on Librarian participation at the USSF Social Forum in Atlanta .

Article on Librarians at the USSF Social Forum in Atlanta in The Progressive Librarian 30 (Winter 2007/2008)  "PLG – ¡Presenté! Report from the United States Social Forum," by Elaine Harger & Kathleen de la Peña McCook. 

Just posted: a pdf file report on  the 2007 USSF.

The Social Forum [2007]  succeeded in introducing US-based movements to the open processes, its participatory nature and the opportunities to share and develop sophisticated politics relevant to the current moment.

 

The U.S. Social Forum is more than a conference, more than a networking bonanza, more than a reaction to war and repression. The USSF will provide space to build relationships, learn from each other's experiences, share our analysis of the problems our communities face, and bring renewed insight and inspiration. It will help develop leadership and develop consciousness, vision, and strategy needed to realize another world.

Hi Kathleen,

I've been thinking about the possibility of collaborating with the media folks on a news and research library set up for the social forum, to be staffed under the auspices of Radical Reference. Can you think of other consituencies that would have use for that kind of service?

Jenna

Jenna,

 Do you have an international following for RadRef? 

 

Any particular resources or services that you have and would like to have from those librarians not in North America?

Fred Stoss

Univ at Buffalo, SUNY; ALA Green Libraries Community Facilitator

 

I just remembered that I made a post in 2007 June 2007 that liinked the materials as best I could with a few photos. This might give you an idea.

2007 USSF-Librarians and Materials

PLG sent the file of material to the Labadie Collection.

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Kathleen de la Peña McCook Librarian

At the Atlanta conference it was all kind of crazy and to me it would seem that any central question center allied to all going on would be a great boon.

The tents added questions to my way of thinking that coule be enhanced by Rad Ref support. I will try and find a list of items we picked up in 2007.

Kathleen de la Peña McCook Librarian

Part of the problem in Atlanta was that the media center was very difficult to access, so even though they had lots of resources and a few of us librarians to take shifts there, almost no one took advantage of the services.  If we can be part of a central information center, that would be great.  Is there anyone in Detroit who's able to attend USSF planning meetings or otherwise easily get in touch with the organizers?  Having a librarian in that city to facilitate planning would be excellent, rather than our trying to get involved just via email.

Greetings --

Here's an update on some of the work being done around library and information issues at the USSF.  A working group has been formed for the People's Media Center -- the new wiki is at http://wiki.ussf2010.org/wiki/Media_Center.  If you'd like to subscribe to the PMC email list, info is at https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/pmc.

Some of us in Radical Reference (http://radicalreference.info) have been talking about what we want to do as librarians at the USSF, and I was on the first PMC conference call last week.  Do you want to get involved?  We've set up a list of our own -- info at http://lists.ccwpsandiego.org/listinfo.cgi/rr-ussf-ccwpsandiego.org.  Please subscribe and introduce yourself!

But I want to emphasize that everything does not have to be a quote-unquote "Rad Ref" effort -- it would be best if, like in 2007, there were a progressive librarians' delegation that would include people who do work with Rad Ref and/or are SRRT members and/or are PLG members and/or are unaffiliated interested library workers!  However, I do think that those of us who are going to help plan the PMC and/or go to the USSF as librarians should be coordinated among ourselves.

So please post here, subscribe to the rr-ussf list, or get in touch with me directly via email.

Just a belated follow-up -- I have a short write-up about the 2010 USSF.  Go to http://radicalreference.info/MRM/ussf2010 for details.