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Another day, another attack in the media on public libraries. This time by Tim Worstall, fellow at the Adam Smith Institute (so you can pretty much already guess which line he will take), in an article provocatively titled "Close The Libraries And Buy Everyone An Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription". I'm not going to dwell too much on the article itself – suffice it to say it contains the usual logical failings (it is clearly not cheaper to give everyone an Amazon subscription and purchase all the equipment needed for those who are not connected etc etc – frankly it's astounding a fellow of the Adam Smith Institute is advocating greater public spending). But it did bring to mind, once more, the constant refrain of "ignore this, it's not worth engaging in". Which, I think, is a mistake.
Every now and then, a piece arguing for the closure of public libraries emerges that causes consternation and outrage. In some respects, this is what the author intends. Whip up a frenzy, get your name out there, ego stroked, job done, who really cares about libraries? This frenzy, however, results in a kind of split in the library world. There are those who, for example, argue that a counter-attack on such a piece is a sign of a lack of confidence, a sign of weakness. By arguing against such assaults we are overly defensive and we would be better not engaging with these kinds of attack. I, unsurprisingly, disagree.
The problem is that such assaults aren't really attacks on libraries. Look closer at the arguments and you see this is part of a broader pattern. Often the argument is that libraries are no longer required, that they are irrelevant as everyone is online. Worse, that the amount of money spent maintaining them could be more 'efficiently' utilised elsewhere. Is this really a specific attack on libraries? Irrelevance and inefficiency? Is that argument only deployed in relation to public libraries? Of course not. This is a standard strategy when it comes to attacking all public services. They are not required any more, there are more efficient ways of delivering what this service delivers. You see this argument deployed in relation to many public services. And here is the problem: it's a strategic assault on public services. It is a mistake, I believe, to characterise such attacks as "attacks on public libraries". It's a very narrow interpretation of an over-arching political strategy.
I won't go over the nature of this political ideology as such (see previous posts on this topic). But we need to be clear that an ideological war is being conducted here. It is not a war on libraries. It is a war on public services. Ideological warfare is being conducted and we (by 'we' I don't just mean librarians) must confront this ideological assault. Pretending that these sorts of attacks will go away if we ignore them is equivalent to an ideological war with one side disarmed. The consequences are stark. Ideological wars are not, generally, won with silence. Yes, we need to express our "value" with confidence, but we also need to confront this ideological war head on.
These assaults are not even restricted to public services, they are also an assault on those that rely on public services: the most vulnerable in our society. As professionals (again, I'm talking about all professionals, not just librarians here) we know that there are many that rely on our expertise. We know that there are many who, without our expertise, would suffer even greater hardship. We know, also, that the most vulnerable are often voiceless. As librarians, we are well aware that there is a large minority of people who rely on us and yet also do not have a platform to express that reliance. I strongly believe that it is our responsibility as a profession to speak up in defence of those without a voice. I would argue this applies to all professionals and, I would also argue, this is something that the professional class have largely failed at in the current political climate (it's amazing, in fact, the extent to which the professional class will remain silent in the face of an assault upon those they should protect). Rather than speaking out strongly on behalf of those who rely on us, we have been largely complicit or unwiling to speak out.
None of this is to say that everyone needs to speak out. What I am saying is that we shouldn't suggest that collective silence is an option. That turning the other cheek is a logical choice. That if we just ignore these assaults the problems will go away and public libraries will continue as before, unaffected by the words of someone writing a provocative piece on a website that is bound to host such views. This is not about public libraries. This is about an ideological assault with multiple targets determined to undermine and weaken our public services. Libraries are one of these targets, but to think it is a target in isolation is a mistake. The arguments against libraries are variations of the same as those used against other public services. Likewise the arguments for libraries are the same as for other public services. By speaking up, we are not only defending public libraries but the entire notion of public services. Silence is not how we defend ourselves against an ideological battle, it is how we surrender.
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
Martin Niemöller
We live in an era dominated by the corrosive ideology of neoliberalism. Since the abandonment of the postwar settlement just over forty years ago, neoliberalism has become the dominant socio-economic ideology. The notion that an unconstrained private sector (via the profit motive and supposed greater efficiency) is best placed to deliver public service has been broadly accepted by the political establishment. Its successful dominance of political thought was confirmed with the arrival of Tony Blair and his embrace of a liberal economic agenda, casting aside the virtues upon which the Labour Party had been founded in favour of the market. But how has this ideology come to dominate? There is no single solitary component that has enabled its acceptance, rather a series of complex and varied factors that have been complicit in its dominance.
Neoliberalism disenfranchises citizens, converting individuals from citizens to consumers. No longer does the individual have 'rights' as citizens, rather they have the gift of "choice". Choice in so far as the capitalist economic system permits. As Doreen Massey argues in Vocabularies of the economy [PDF]:
"It is one of the ghastly ironies of the present neoliberal age that we are told (as we saw at the outset of this argument) that much of our power and our pleasure, and our very self-identification, lies in our ability to choose (and we are indeed bombarded every day by 'choices', many of them meaningless, others we wish we didn't have to make), while at the level that really matters – what kind of society we'd like to live in, what kind of future we'd like to build – we are told, implacably, that, give or take a few minor variations, there is no alternative – no choice at all."
The shift away from citizenry to a consumerist culture is one that particularly benefits those with the financial means with which to engage in such a culture (enabling access to the best healthcare, the best education and so on). It follows, therefore, that such a culture penalises those who lack the financial means with which to make the choices available to those who do. This, obviously and inevitably, breeds inequality. Neoliberalism is, essentially, a system that creates and entrenches inequality (and, arguably, inefficiency as a result) – see Piketty's much reported (if little read) analysis.
Of course, neoliberalism needs a foundation upon which to grow and thrive. Arguably, no system would be able to do so without certain institutions of power enabling its spread. Without the enabling of such institutions, neoliberalism as an ideology would barely sprout roots. It needs the nourishment that only vital, trusted, public institutions can provide.
In Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, Louis Althusser argues that dominant ideologies are enabled primarily through the non-violent operation of "Ideological State Apparatuses" (ISAs). Chief amongst the ISAs referred to is the "educational apparatus". Althusser argues that:
"…behind the scenes of its political Ideological State Apparatus, which occupies the front of the stage, what the bourgeoisie has installed as its number-one, i.e. as its dominant Ideological State Apparatus, is the educational apparatus, which has in fact replaced in its functions the previously dominant Ideological State Apparatus, the Church."
Althusser argues the educational apparatus is key to consolidating the influence of the dominant ideology, and drawing on Gramsci's (Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1971) concept of cultural hegemony, that it plays a role in ensuring that the establishment worldview is accepted as a cultural norm, as universally valid. Education is not the sole enabler of a neoliberal, consumerised society, but it plays a key and fundamental role in ensuring it remains dominant. When the language becomes embedded within an educational apparatus that is perceived to be apolitical in nature, the dominant ideology is strengthened. As Althusser goes on to argue:
"The mechanisms which produce this vital result for the capitalist regime are naturally covered up and concealed by a universally reigning ideology of the School, universally reigning because it is one of the essential forms of the ruling bourgeois ideology: an ideology which represents the School as a neutral environment purged of ideology…"
This lends itself to the defence utilised when employing neoliberal language: the terms are harmless as they are used in a neutral context, purged of ideology. We can employ these terms because we are not political and we've stripped away all political context.
In their article, The Counterhegemonic Academic Librarian: A Call to Action (Progressive Librarian #40), Stephen E Bales and Lea Susan Engle contend that higher education institutions are well positioned to perform this indoctrination considering their "place of high authority in western society". They go on to argue that the academic library is a "necessary and inseparable component of the educational ISA, reproducing the political milieu through its collections and library staff or faculties". The effect of this normalisation is a student class that is "steeped in the norms of the dominant culture that ultimately controls the means of production". As David Sweeney, director for research, innovations and skills at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, recently argued, the UK has:
"…comprehensively failed to get away from the social elite in higher education…Do we want people like us leaving universities? Do we want our graduates to be engaged with society or part of an elite? Would it not be good to act as models for people who will tackle the big global challenges?"
Our system of higher education does not produce students who challenge the status quo, rather it produces graduates that will protect it, perpetuating and reinforcing the over-arching ideology of the political establishment. The educational ISA is a powerful tool in perpetuating the dominant ideology, ensuring its dominance and primacy. Any attempt to breakdown this dominant ideology, therefore, relies on challenging the status quo in our education system. Only by weeding this ideology out of our education system can we hope to breakdown the structures that create division and inequality.
This causes a number of problems in terms of the role of the librarian within the educational ISA. Our position as "neutral" figures of professional standing is a fallacy. Whilst we may strive to be "neutral" our actions are anything but. For example, as Bales and Eagle argue, the ALA "Code of Ethics" can be interpreted to mean that librarians must take a neutral stance on social justice issues, giving equal access to items that preserve the status quo and those that promote the advancement of marginalised groups (this is also reflected in point 7 of CILIP's Ethical Principles – that we should remain "impartial" and avoid "bias"). The logical conclusion of such equal weighting, appearing to remain impartial, is to create a kind of equilibrium whereby to maintain inequality is as valid as to challenge it. When explored to its logical conclusion, is maintaining neutrality truly fitting with our ethical values? By giving an equal platform to materials that entrench social division, are we not taking a political position? In doing so are we not also undermining the very values we espouse?
Bales and Engle go on to argue that our position should not be of neutrality as imagined by the ALA "Code of Ethics", but rather it should be:
"…one of social and moral responsibility to challenge the academic library as an ISA, to contribute to the creation of authentic knowledge and history, not simply the reiteration of canonical indoctrination."
One of the key ways in which we can challenge the academic libraries as an ISA is through awareness of the language we utilise. The growing adoption of neoliberal language, normalises and legitimises it, reinforcing the consumerist culture. Through this use of language we endorse the use of words that are neoliberal by nature and have meaning that is contrary to our ethical values. Endorsement leads to acceptance of the terms as normal modes of language, as orthodox terminology. Using terms such as "customer", "brand" etc imply an acceptance of the neoliberal driven transformation of citizens into consumers. This is, of course, problematic on a number of levels, not least because this normalisation embeds the discourse of the market in the minds of those who will join the ranks of the social elites, ensuring the consolidation of the dominant ideology. It also causes problems in terms of both our professional ethics and the future of the profession in general. As John Buschman argued in an address at Rider University in 2004, as such "business buzzwords" become ubiquitous:
"Thus does a privatized and economic vision of the library come to dominate discussions and assumptions about its future and define its purposes."
The transformation of citizens into consumers results in the corruption and, ultimately, the destruction of publicly funded higher education (which has been privatised "further and faster than anywhere else") and our public services. This transformation results in the adoption of market strategies, gradually eroding the notion that we are entitled to free education, healthcare etc.; instead convincing us that we are consumers without rights, only choice. For a profession steeped in the values of free and unimpeded access to information without discrimination, such an ideology presents a serious threat. A move towards marketisation means a move away from a service provided free and without discrimination, and towards a service for the few. We cannot tolerate a situation whereby we discriminate against those without the means to access the services we provide. Aping the language of business will not, as Buschman concludes:
"…save libraries, it transforms them into something else. We're a profession and an institution in crisis because we have a structural contradiction between our purposes and practices as they've historically evolved and our adaptation to the current environment."
Without challenging the use of the language of the dominant elite, we essentially become agents of the ruling bourgeois elites. The neutral academic librarian becomes, effectively, an agent ensuring that the dominant ideology is reinforced. As Massey points out [PDF]:
"The vocabulary we use, to talk about the economy in particular, has been crucial to the establishment of neoliberal hegemony."
In Education Under Siege, Stanley Aronowitz and Henry Giroux (quoted in Bales and Engle) described academics that work passively in the service of the controlling interests of society as "accommodating intellectuals" (expanding on Gramsci's distinction between "organic" and "traditional" intellectuals). These "accommodating intellectuals" stand:
"…firm within an ideological posture and set of material practices that support the dominant society and its ruling groups. Such intellectuals are generally not aware of this process that they do not define themselves as self-conscious agents of the status quo, even though their politics further the interests of the dominant classes."
Such "accommodating intellectuals" are essentially, unaware that their posture reinforces and strengthens the status quo. They would not recognise, Aronowitz and Giroux argue, that that is what their actions enable, but they are working passively and, perhaps, unwittingly in the service of the elites, employing their language and ideology within the dominant ISA. The same might be said of the neutral academic librarian who through their passivity reinforces the ideology of the dominant classes. Whilst they might consider their passivity "neutral" it is, on the contrary, overtly political. They take a political position through the adoption of "material practices that support the dominant society and its ruling groups". The normalisation of the language of the dominant class legitimises it, that process of legitimising is a political act because it validates language that is a key part of the political agenda. By utilising their language, the librarian demonstrates acceptance of the ideology of a political movement that wishes to transform citizens into consumers. They have, effectively, become active enablers, reinforcing the dominant ideology and ensuring its normalisation.
So, if the neutral academic librarian, or "accommodating intellectual", is an agent of the dominant classes, what is the alternative? The alternative must surely be to position ourselves as, what Aronowitz and Giroux describe as "transformative intellectuals"? According to their definition, "transformative intellectuals" are those who:
"…earn a living within institutions that play a fundamental role in producing the dominant culture… [but] define their political terrain by offering to students forms of alternative discourse and critical social practices whose interests are often at odds with the overall hegemonic role of the school and the society it supports."
In order to be consistent with our professional values and to work to create the conditions for an alternative to the dominant ideology that asserts information as a commodity, we must surely become "transformative librarians"? Rather than adopting the language and strategies of the dominant class, we should be challenging or rejecting it. The language of the market has become the dominant discourse within our profession, our libraries and higher education in general. We are too accommodating of neoliberal ideologies that are at odds with our ethical values. Remaining "neutral" is no longer an option. "Neutrality" makes us both accommodating intellectuals and enablers of the dominant ideology. Why should we enable an ideology that is in conflict with our values?
Neoliberalism is a corrosive, destructive ideology. It leads to an unequal society that transforms, without consent, citizens into consumers. Adopting the language of this dominant ideology legitimises and normalises it, ensuring a steady flow into the establishment of graduates "steeped in the norms of the dominant culture that ultimately controls the means of production" [Bales and Engle, PDF]. Rather than passively and uncritically accepting the use of terminology that is alien to our professional values, we should challenge its use and instead of accepting the language of the dominant ideology, we should offer students forms of alternative discourse that reject and challenge it. The prevalence of what Buschman terms as "business buzzwords" legitimise this dominant discourse and therefore cannot be considered neutral, but purely political. It is up to us to refuse to act as passive agents that reinforce the power of the dominant classes and to reject the legitimisation of language that act as tools of inequality. When neutrality reinforces a dominant ideology that runs counter to our values, we are no longer neutral. There is a choice before us: we either act as enablers or we act as transformative agents.
I'm currently in the process of writing a post about how librarians and libraries can act as enablers for the dominant culture (yeah, not really selling it there am I?). One of my key thoughts on this topic is the use of language and how it enables dominant ideologies by normalising certain terminology (ie by making certain words ubiquitous, we make them seem acceptable in contexts where they perhaps they should not be acceptable). Language is a big bugbear of mine for this reason. Corrupt the language and you corrupt the ethos.
Anyway, all of this got me to thinking what questions we should ask of language utilised in our professional discourse to help identify whether they are appropriate to use within the context of our professional values. In a not very well thought through process, I sort of came up with the following questions that we could (should?) ask:
I sort of think they are a good starting point when considering the use of language across the profession. I'm sure there are better questions to ask. Would be interested to hear if anyone has any advance on these as a way to help us unpick some of the language we often see utilised.
There is nothing wrong with moving government services online. Undoubtedly it has made a whole range of services much easier to use and access for the majority of citizens. I can now go online and purchase my car tax disc in a matter of seconds rather than having to dig out a load of paperwork, complete a paper form and stand in a long queue at the Post Office. I can access information about a range of government services relatively quickly and painlessly (well, considering it's gov.uk), and I wouldn't swap that for doing things the 'old' way for anything. However, this is where Francis Maude and I depart in terms of understanding the digital world (obviously in broader political terms we depart much earlier than that). Because I understand that it's a majority not because the minority can't be bothered to get online, but because for many it is simply not possible to take advantage of digital services.
It's for this reason that Francis Maude appears to have launched a rather bizarre crusade to get the elderly online. Rather than persist with a mixed approach to government services (ie digital and 'analogue' in tandem), Maude is determined to move towards an online policy and if the elderly or the poor are unwilling to get on the internet, then they will lose access to key government services. It is unclear how exactly his government will then provide these people with the support they need, he appears to believe that they can be sidelined and ignored without having an impact on society in general.
There are any number of things wrong with Maude's rather blinkered approach to digital services. The most obvious is, of course, that to get online costs money. Not only does it cost money to buy the initial start-up equipment (computer and other equipment), but it also costs money every month to have a connection to the internet. When one considers that Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures demonstrate that 13% without an internet connection point to equipment costs as the reason and 12% say access costs are too high (all age groups), it's clear to see that the reason why they are not online is not down to a proportion of citizens being, as Maude terms it, computer "refuseniks". They are not refusing, they are unable to choose to get online. Quite a substantial difference, and one that is often overlooked by the comfortable middle classes who assume that, because they have a computer and an internet connection, everyone must be online (it's this same middle-class assumption that leads to the old "we don't need libraries anymore because everything is online" nonsense).
And it's not just the cost of getting online that prevents pensioners from getting online. The ONS figures also reveal that 20% claim that a "lack of skills" is the reason why they are not online. Again, these people are not "refuseniks" they are people who simply do not have the skills to get online and make use of the many services the rest of us take for granted. If we are going to effectively force these people to get online, where is the support going to come from (aside from the paltry 'one-off' 'assisted digital option' proposed by Maude)? Public libraries seem to provide the most obvious mechanism for addressing this lack of skills but, well, they are being closed, hollowed out and stripped of their ability to provide the kind of support that would benefit those that are digitally excluded.
All of this rather begs the question: what will the government do about those that are excluded? It's all very well talking 'tough' as Maude occasionally likes to do, but what does this mean in real terms? For those who cannot afford to purchase the equipment or to obtain the skills necessary to get online and utilise public services, what are their options? Will they just be left, excluded from important government services with the subsequent knock on effects and additional costs to the taxpayer (to adopt standard Tory terminology for a second…I promise it won't happen again)? Or will the government purchase the equipment and the connection for those without in perpetuity (highly unlikely given the ongoing costs)? Nowhere in Maude's grand scheme does he explain how the government will ensure that those who cannot afford the equipment will not be left behind. Perhaps he doesn't care.
But there's another element to this that is deeply troubling. The switch to digital also puts the emphasis on the citizen paying to access government services – government services that they have paid for through taxation. Whereas accessing government services would have come at no cost to the citizen but would be met by the government agency (eg leaflets, consultation time etc etc), the cost is now borne by the citizen. Twice. Once through taxation and once in accessing the government service online (which although does not require payment in and of itself, requires the citizen to make a payment to a corporate entity in order to access those same services). Now, that might be fine for people like myself and Maude, but I would argue that the most vulnerable and the poorest in our society should not have to expect to pay twice to access government services. They should be free and accessible to all in whatever format suits their needs. This may cost the government a bit extra, but better that than costing the citizen extra. Government services must be free to access, not effectively placed behind either state or corporate paywalls.
For some time now Maude has been pontificating about the need to drive government services online. Of course it is of great benefit for the majority of us that these services are available online and facilitate quick and easy access to government services. However, there remains a minority who, should the move towards a digital only policy take effect, will be marginalised and excluded from our society. The needs of the people must take precedence over the need to save money, the consequences of getting these priorities in reverse order will be felt for decades to come. The government would do well to remember that, not just in terms of the move towards digital only but also in terms of their broader economic and social policies. But I won't hold my breath.
A couple of weeks ago now I attended (and was involved in the 'organisation' of) the Radical Librarian Collective gathering in London. Since the day, I've been struggling to put some of my thoughts into words. Indeed, I'm not sure I can adequately write about the various discussions that took place (head to Lauren Smith's blog for that). Rather than attempt to write a comprehensive 'review' of the day, I thought I'd just make a few broad brush observations and write about it in more general terms.
Last year, I got together with a few like-minded folk who shared the same sense of longing for something a bit different. From my own personal perspective, I have been alarmed by some of the discourse across the profession for a few years now. There has been a rapid process of depoliticisation of the profession that has become increasingly noticeable in recent years (although arguably it has been part of a long-term trend – as it has been with most professions). There has been a general shift towards the rhetoric of 'the market' without serious consideration of the implications of doing so. We have perhaps become increasingly uncritical and, as I have noted recently, perhaps have not paid enough attention to the implications of the language that is increasingly utilised in professional discourse. For me, discussions that challenge this are welcome, and so I was really grateful for the opportunity to gather with like-minds and, as they say, 'unpack' some of these issues.
Bradford was, I think, a great success. It sprung together from nothing and turned into something that I think we were all really proud of. It was something new, something fresh, something that many of us who were there on that day felt was much needed. I think it's fair to say that many people came away from it both reassured that there were others that felt the same, and keen to take ideas forwards. That said, I feel that London appears to have been the real catalyst to start building stuff.
As with any effort to actually do stuff, organising RLC London was not without its sneering. If there's one thing I have learnt about people, it's that people are happy to complain about various issues but should anyone step up to tackle them, they effectively become a target to be shot at. I've personally experienced this several times over (with Voices, Informed and RLC), try to actively do something rather than just moan and you will be a target for cynicism and sneering. To the extent where you begin to wonder whether there is an issue of prejudice at play (educated working classes should pipe down and know their place etc – and if you are an educated working class woman, you are in for some serious sneering). Sometimes it's difficult to keep the sneering at bay. There will always be cynics trying to smash down your optimism, the trick is to remain optimistic and focus on the positives.
RLC London was, without doubt, an inspiring day. It helps, I think, that everyone in attendance was on roughly the same page. Sure a bunch of radical minded folk in an enclosed space could turn into a massive, dare I say, 'echo chamber' reflecting and entrenching existing viewpoints as everyone nods along in agreement. There were, however, some really engaging and challenging conversations throughout the day helped, perhaps, by a smattering of people who perhaps wouldn't describe themselves as 'radical' but had certain perspectives that, in the current climate, might well be described as such.
In terms of the sessions (again, I'm not going to go into these in great detail), I attended discussions on censorship, a session on the LIS qualification, critical theory, a session on how to take the discussions and ideas back to the workplace and finally a plenary session to discuss how we take things forwards as a collective. What I found really interesting and valuable about the day was how themes ran through all the sessions. You could have a discussion about censorship which would then feed into discussions on the qualification which would then feed into discussions on critical theory. Everything was linked, helped by the event itself being broadly themed I guess.
With regards to my session, I wanted to look at the qualification and how both libraries and the professional body can and should be constructed in line with our professional ethics. This was too much for one session as I soon discovered. I ultimately decided to divide it up into three discussions, but there was only time in the day to explore one (the other two will have to be explored another time!). The discussion itself was really interesting (from my perspective) as we wrangled over the extent to which the qualification should focus on practical, vocational stuff and the theoretical/ethical side. There was much discussion about the way the LIS qualification is increasingly losing the theoretical/ethical aspects and focusing on things that will 'get you a job'.
For me the qualification has to be built on strong foundations, which means a strong theoretical and ethical underpinning that the other stuff can be built on top of. There needs to be an element of practical stuff that can be applied within in the workplace, but there also needs to be a fundamental understanding of the ethical underpinning. Which takes us back to the start of this post, the depoliticisation of the profession. This starts on LIS courses. If we don't tackle the problems at the heart of the qualification collectively, then we will continue to depoliticise ourselves and devalue our profession (this does not mean we all have to be radical political types, it just means we need to have an understanding of some of the socio-political issues that affect every aspect of our work). It is for this reason I think there needs to be serious discussion about what we want from our LIS programmes.
Back to the day itself (after promising not to go into great detail on any of the sessions and finding I already have)…I think what I took away from London more than anything else was the enthusiasm to build on the discussions. To build networks. To create stuff. To tackle issues in whatever way we could as a collective. There was a real will to take these discussions and not just walk away, patting ourselves on the back for having a jolly good chat, but to actually construct networks and seriously address some of the concerns that had been raised. This made me feel really positive and really excited about where the discussions might lead. Already local networks are being organised, a "Declaration on open access for LIS authors" has been collaboratively developed, and who knows what else will emerge from these discussions. Yes, when it comes to stuff like RLC London, it is very hard to smash the optimism. After all, as I now like to remind myself:
If not now, when? If not you, who?
One of the trends in library rhetoric is the increasing use of neoliberal words and terminology. This has been ongoing for some time and, in many ways, is nothing new (indeed, the discussion about it is nothing new). However, it seems to me to be ever more prevalent as growing numbers of people talk about library services (and public services in general) in broadly capitalist terms. We see this through the growth of the use of terms such as 'customer', 'marketing' and, most recently, in the suggestion that libraries should adopt a 'market orientation'.
Language is probably not given the importance it deserves. Care needs to be taken with the words we use and how we use them. Words have meaning, but they also come with baggage. It can help engender cultural change within an institution, changing the collective mindset and corrupting the values of an institution. There are increasing efforts, some might argue, to "roll-out neoliberal logics" within institutions and language is a powerful tool in paving the way for these "logics" to take hold.
But what of neoliberalism? Why should we be concerned about language reflecting neoliberal ideals? Self (Rolling Back the Market: Economic Dogma and Political Choice, 1999) argued that neoliberalism consists of five main dogmas:
Neoliberalism argues that public services are inefficient unless they adopt market strategies to deliver services. Public services should, in effect, adopt a 'market orientation'. It is by adopting such a strategy that, according to neoliberal dogma, public services will thrive. Not only should we be wary of the strategy, we should also be wary of the terminology that enables it.
Concern about the use and meaning of language is undoubtedly unfashionable. To value language and its meaning is to be too old-fashioned, to hold back progress or to be an infuriating block on progress. This is a typical characteristic of neoliberal debate – to present the argument as being between two opposing and simple perspectives:
1) The forward-thinking, progressive view.
2) The old fashioned, backwards view.
Such a strategy is well established by neoliberals: neoliberal ideas are painted as progressive, forward-thinking and exciting. Opposition to such ideals (and there will be opposition when espousing neoliberal ideals that are odds with the values of the majority) is somehow a block on progress and somewhat old-fashioned. These old-fashioned perspectives, underpinned by a fear of change, prevent us from making progress. It's not just about the way they use language, it's about the way in which they frame the debate.
Language is repeatedly abused by neoliberals to further their goal of turning us from citizens to consumers [pdf]. Our language has become increasingly capitalist, which is perhaps unsurprising when one also considers that we are increasingly living in conditions that could be best described as 'extreme capitalism'. One does not necessarily cause the other, but it cannot be mere coincidence that our language is increasingly utilised in capitalist terms. Does the shift in language facilitate the growth of the capitalist system, or does the expanding capitalist system influence our language? Is language, in fact, the weapon that enables the rollout of "neoliberal logics"?
In 1961, Raymond Williams pondered the term 'consumers' and wondered if we were seen as 'users' instead of 'consumers':
"…we might look at society very differently, for the concept of use involves general human judgments – we need to know how to use things and what we are using them for… whereas consumption, with its crude hand-to-mouth patterns, tends to cancel these questions, replacing them by the stimulated and controlled absorption of the products of an external and autonomous system".
Perhaps the changing of our language influences the way we view our society and how it might develop. Maybe using 'consumers' (or 'customers') instead of 'users' sows the seeds of a particular mindset. A mindset that sees society as one filled with consumers rather than citizens, one that enables the establishment of these "neoliberal logics" within institutions.
It is primarily due to concerns about the extent to which language enables the expansion of "neoliberal logics" that I am weary of its growing (mis-)use in libraries. I'm not comfortable with talk about 'market orientation' (or 'marketing' if I am entirely honest) with respect to public services in general, let alone with specific reference to libraries. Libraries do not exist in a market (although it could be argued that HE libraries operate increasingly within a market environment). Talk of "market orientation" in terms of a public service is, for me, deeply troubling (and I come from the retail sector where such language is obviously deepy ingrained). Not least because one has to question when a market based solution has ever worked for any public institution (clue: never). But also because of what the word actually means.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'market' as:
Of a manufacturer, advertiser, etc.: to place or establish (a product) on the market; esp. to seek to increase sales of (a product) by means of distribution and promotion strategies. Also (in extended use): to promote the public image of (a person, organization, etc.).
Marketing is:
The action or business of bringing or sending a product or commodity to market; (now chiefly, Business) the action, business, or process of promoting and selling a product, etc., including market research, advertising, and distribution.
Using the terminology of the market simply validates it and encourages its spread, enabling the "neoliberal logic" to take hold. By adopting capitalist language we accept that information is a commodity (a product) that can be promoted and sold (marketed) – in essence "neoliberal logics". If we accept the logic, do we then accept that our services should be re-designed according to market methods and incentives?
Is it appropriate to frame information as a commodity? And, if it is, how do we square this with our professional ethics? Commodities have prices, it therefore follows that if we treat information as a commodity we accept that it has a price. But if we are concerned with facilitating free access to information, isn't there a conflict? In a neoliberal, extreme capitalist state the answer is, of course, that there is and that, therefore, the conflict must be resolved in favour of the market (the market trumps all in an extreme capitalist society). We then become marketers and sellers of a product, rather than facilitators of access to a social good. The roll-out of "neoliberal logics" would be complete.
The problem for me is exacerbated by how such terminology is couched. If you oppose such language (as I mentioned above) you are seen as obstructive block to progress, an out of date annoyance. This is how the discussion is often framed: accept market terminology or face marginalisation. The truth is, however, that that particular side of the argument is actually deeply conservative and is, in many respects, the real block on progress. After all, how progressive is it to adopt the terminology and strategies that constitute much of the frameworks of our capitalist society? Surely to reject capitalist norms is to be progressive and forward-thinking? Is a fascination with 'market orientation' the actual block on progress? Shouldn't resistance to "neoliberal logics" be respected in a professional context, rather than rejected out of hand as obstructive? Such resistance is, after all, entirely in tune with our professional ethics.
The adoption of capitalist language and strategies lacks imagination. It's easy to reach for a solution readily available from there, even when such solutions have had limited success over there. It seems much harder to come up with a strategy that is substantially different. It takes time and effort to construct something new. We can do much better, we can construct something imaginative and distinct. We do not have to adopt capitalist, neoliberal norms because that's the path others have followed. We have the skills and the capabilities. It's no good being fearful and negative, believing that we can do no better than what is done there. We have to believe that we can construct something better.
And this is where the debate often leaves me filled with despair – it prevents us from constructing something new, from using our imagination to construct something better. If you dare to criticise the rollout of "neoliberal logics", your argument is nullified at source, prevented from being explored in any meaningful sense. There are alternatives, there should not be one dominant voice in the debate, all avenues should be explored and critiques should be a launching pad for further discussion not seen as a threat. However, neoliberals and arch-capitalists frequently frame the debate in such terms so as to close down the opportunity to explore alternatives – leaving us in the state we are in now where we have seen continual 'progress' towards an extremist capitalist state.
It doesn't have to be this way. We do not have to be fearful of the alternatives. We do not have to accept that by rejecting capitalist rhetoric we are, in some way, holding back progress. We do not need to enable "neoliberal logics" to take hold within our services. Fear may prevent us from taking action, from challenging existing norms to create something distinct. But we shouldn't be fearful of rejecting these norms and creating something new. We have it within ourselves to build an alternative, we just need to be fearless, collaborative and patient.
The following article was originally commissioned by the Russian International Affairs Council (original version here, English version here), who have very kindly given me permission to reproduce it here.
Libraries across Europe are currently facing very serious challenges in the face of the wave of austerity sweeping across the continent. As governments sell to their people the notion that public spending needs to be curtailed to overcome the effects of the 2008 economic crisis, public libraries are increasingly seen as an easy target, one that is unlikely to rally the people in quite the same way as cuts to other services where the outcomes of such cuts appear more immediately tangible.
But libraries continue to play an important role in our communities across Europe. They facilitate access to knowledge free at the point of use in a way that is increasingly threatened as we move towards a word where access to information comes at a price. They are the great leveller in democracies, ensuring everyone has access to the same quality of information. Where, for example, those without internet access (around 30% of the European population do not have a broadband internet connection) still have somewhere to go to ensure they have access to the same information as those that do. This provision is not only important to support children in their education but also the unemployed and those who rely on social security, particularly in the UK where those least likely to have a home internet connection are increasingly being forced to use such technology for their own financial security.
But libraries aren't simply important in terms of providing access to new technologies, they are also vital for helping to raise literacy standards, and encourage children to develop their reading skills. The importance of libraries to children is perhaps best exemplified by the statistics that demonstrate that children are increasingly using public libraries, despite the internet and the proliferation of a range of competing activities. Over the past eight years in the UK, children's fiction borrowing as risen year upon year, underlining how important public libraries are for supporting the educational development of the next generation.
In terms of the future for the library service, we are already seeing hints of how it might develop and, perhaps, how it should develop. In the UK, there has been a growth in so-called 'community libraries'. The terminology appears harmless, but the reality is quite different. In order to support the drive to austerity, libraries are increasingly being forced upon communities who are then compelled to run them against their will. Whilst the majority of library users would prefer their public library to be run by the local authority, policy makers are more interested in reducing costs and passing these costs directly onto the community, effectively increasing their tax burden.
This 'plague' is sweeping across the UK and has been noticed elsewhere across Europe. In Spain, for example, volunteer run libraries are increasingly being seen as an option, at least in part due to their 'commonality' in the UK. Ideas that spring up in one European nation are sure to be experimented with elsewhere, particularly when it appears that the idea helps to support the austerity agenda that is so prevalent across the continent. It seems not far-fetched to say that volunteer libraries could, over the coming years, spread right across Europe and be seen as a standard way of delivering library services, complemented by large city 'super-libraries' such as that that opened in Birmingham in 2013.
If this is to be the future for public libraries across Europe, it is fair to say that the future looks bleak and there is likely to be only a small number of libraries fit for purpose across Europe as smaller libraries disappear and community libraries close due to their unsustainable nature. It would appear that one future is to have a well-funded, flagship library in each major city, but a steady decline in the number of small libraries serving local communities. In the UK alone we could see the number of public libraries shift from the thousands to the hundreds between now and the next century.
Whilst this is how things might develop, it is not necessarily how things should develop. Recent elections have shown just how important the internet has been in influencing the results. President Obama's election campaign in 2008 showed how the internet could be harnessed to drive a successful presidential election. Not only is it the case that elections have become increasingly fought over the internet, but the battle between political parties has increasingly sought to channel the power of the internet as politicians increasingly see the internet as a vital weapon in the information wars. But this 'war' is not only being fought between politicians, there are other actors that influence the political information flow. Websites such as Full Fact, What Do They Know? and They Work For You have provided the tools to make it easier for those with an internet connection to hold their elected representatives to account, as well as to get to the truth about their activities. It is far easier to engage in the political process now than it has ever been. Provided you are connected to the internet.
We know that many people do not have an internet connection. We also know that, as with literacy standards, there is always likely to be a minority of the populace who cannot either access or make use of the information and tools that are at our disposal. We know that despite many years of effort to address literacy standards, there are still many who struggle with literacy (one in six according to the UK's National Literacy Trust). For those that do struggle, the internet will present additional problems. Issues around literacy do not disappear once you sit in front of a computer. They persist, ensuring that a divide remains between those with good levels of literacy and those without.
So perhaps this points the way to an alternative role for libraries, how things should develop in the next one hundred years. Perhaps libraries should increasingly become gateways to our democracy, helping people to hold their elected officials to account, ensuring that the electorate are well informed and able to influence the political sphere. As well as supporting them through the provision of access to government portals as governments increasingly adopt a 'digital by default' strategy, maybe they can also help to ensure the people can watch over the state and ensure it can be held to account. It may require a different model across Europe, one that is more independent of state and therefore at enough of a distance to ensure it can hold governments to account.
Perhaps the volunteer model that is rapidly being adopted is a hint to a better alternative that is being ignored on the basis of political ideology. Rather than 'community libraries' run by people with a gun held to their head, maybe a closer, stronger partnership between the community and the professionally delivered service is the answer. Maybe the example of the University of Mondragon suggests an interesting, more desirable alternative.
Mondragon operates on a co-operative model that is highly de-centralised and engages all partners in the delivery of education. It also has a highly democratic governance structure:
Its supreme body is the general assembly, a 30-strong committee of representatives composed of one-third staff, one-third students and one-third outside interested parties, often other co-ops in Mondragon Corporation. It meets annually to decide on the priorities for the coming year and has significant powers: it can, for example, sack members of the senior management team.
Perhaps this is a model that libraries across Europe should be exploring. A professionally delivered service run in partnership with its users and other co-operative libraries. The potential for such a service is great, but the idea itself could be easily corrupted. Efforts to expand on mutuals in the UK have already raised alarm amongst interested parties such as Co-operatives UK and the Trades Union Congress. As such, this alternative future should perhaps be handled with care and one that advocates should be careful to ensure the idea is not corrupted and abused.
There is certainly the potential to build an alternative future for public (and, indeed, academic) libraries in the future. At present the future appears to be developing in a way that will result in the slow destruction of a public library network across Europe. But it doesn't have to be this way. Libraries should develop as institutions that can help the people of Europe engage in democratic processes, they should be at the centre of a drive towards transparency across the continent. A well-funded and well-resourced library service should enhance democracies throughout Europe. The future might look bleak, but it should look transparent.
Over the Easter week-end, a petition emerged calling for The Sun newspaper to be removed from Islington Council's public libraries. The petition states:
"We would like public libraries to replace the Sun newspaper with a publication that does not promote misogynistic images of women or promote and eroticise violent crimes against women. This is not censorship, councils choose which publications they buy based on the needs of the local community, libraries choose not to buy The Daily Star or The Daily Sport which were cited along with The Sun in the Leveson enquiry as "relentlessly objectifying women" and "Portraying them as a sum of sexualised body parts" and we believe they should choose not to buy The Sun for the same reasons."
It goes on to list the ways in which the availability of the newspaper in the council's libraries contravenes its own policies with regards to discrimination and in terms of making available sexist materials. At the time of writing it had received 495 signatures and seems to be garnering some support on Twitter.
I have no time for The Sun (or indeed any of the newspapers in the Murdoch stable). It is a cynical, exploitative newspaper that, without a trace of irony, expresses a superficial sense of patriotism whilst simultaneously expressing beliefs that are alien to our history and culture ('our' being the people, they certainly represent beliefs that reflect the history and culture of the establishment). And, of course, it promotes views that are xenophobic, misogynistic and discriminatory. Consequently, I sympathise with the motivations behind the petition, but I find it troublesome on any number of levels.
I do not believe that any lawful material should be banned from public libraries, no matter how abhorrent I may think it is. Because once we let that genie out of that bottle there is no telling where it will end. Removing copies of The Sun because it is misogynistic may result in certain groups seeking the removal of other books or newspapers that promote a viewpoint that an individual or group may find abhorrent (indeed, a quick search online finds that there are those who would seek to remove The Koran from library shelves). Once a concession is made to one group, it would be increasingly difficult to fend off calls from other pressure groups to remove materials. Libraries should be concerned with free access to all information, regardless of its value (which is a subjective concept at any rate), not providing access to materials according to the demands of individual pressure groups. Which leads me to another, wider concern about the impact of such library campaigns.
We're currently witnessing a growth in so-called 'community libraries' – libraries that local communities are being forced to provide in response to threats of closure. They are often delivered by those without previous experience of running a library and, in many cases, without substantial local authority oversight. One of the many concerns about the spread of these types of library services is how the kind of campaigns mounted against The Sun will be handled. Will those from the local community running such libraries bow to vociferous pressure from within their local community to remove materials that the minority might value? Or will they stand firm and refuse to remove materials from library shelves simply because sections of the community demand it? I'm not convinced that they will resist.
The size of a local authority is both a blessing and a curse. In such circumstances, its size can be an advantage in resisting such efforts. For a small library in a local community, run by the local community facing demands from within the community to remove certain materials, I'm not sure they will be so resilient. "Faceless bureaucrats" have a distinct advantage over volunteers in a "community library" – they are faceless. They can, by and large, brush off any local campaigns. Well known figures within the community who help deliver library services are not so fortunate. As I told The Guardian back in 2012 with respect to libraries removing books from shelves due to external pressures:
"…the issue of censorship and banned books are very strong arguments for a professionally run service. If community libraries are to spread, it is very likely that stories of censorship and withdrawn books will increase."
Of course, those who believe that The Sun should be removed from public libraries have every right to organise, petition and argue their case. What concerns me is that as libraries run by volunteers becomes the norm, such campaigns will become ever more widespread and a growing problem for the public library service in the UK. It is only a matter of time, as such libraries become more prevalent, that one such campaign will be successful. In the fight against injustice and discrimination, we should be careful what we wish for.
It certainly seems that way following the vote yesterday by the European Parliament's Industry Committee. Jim Killock of The Open Rights Group (ORG) argued that:
'By allowing ISPs to charge more for "specialised services", the Regulation would enable telecoms and other companies to buy their way to a faster internet at the expense of individuals, start-ups and small businesses. This threatens the openness and freedom of the internet.'
Effectively, a two-tier internet would ensue, where the big players dominate and control the flow of information online. As Marietje Schaake of the Netherlands (a country which enshrined net neutrality in law in 2012) explains:
"Without legal guarantees for net neutrality internet service providers were able to throttle competitors. And existing online services can make deals to offer faster services at a higher price. This could push players without deep pockets, such as start-ups, hospitals or universities, out of the market."
Of course, the increased corporatisation of the internet was always likely. The internet is (still) too wild and free a place for corporates and they see greater influence over the way information is delivered as necessary to protect their interests and drive profits.
As is to be expected, the legislation proposed is also rather loose with its wording (what legislation related to technology isn't?) which raises concerns about the potential for increased internet censorship:
Also of concern are proposals that would allow "reasonable traffic management measures" to "prevent or impede serious crime". On these, Killock added:
'It is unclear what "reasonable traffic management measures" are but potentially they could allow ISPs to block or remove content without any judicial oversight. Decisions about what the public can and can't see online should not be made by commercial organisations and without any legal basis.'
The full European Parliament will vote on this Regulation will take place on 3rd April. It's still not too late to take action against the proposals. A good place to start is the Save the Internet campaign. And if you want to find out more about net neutrality and what it means, you could do worse than watch the short video below.
Neoliberalism n. a political philosophy that argues in favour of privatisation, deregulation, and shrinking of the state to the benefit of the private sector.
Neoliberals have a peculiar belief system. They believe that neoliberalism is about shifting power away from the state, freeing us from its "oppressive" influence on every aspect of our lives. It is about freedom and liberty. It is about the individual having more control over our lives. Of course, this doesn't hold up to much scrutiny. Whenever neoliberals are in a position of power, they have to deceive the people to ensure that their political philosophy can be put into action. Deception because, ultimately, the people will often reject the reforms proposed if they were offered to them in advance and with total transparency (see the NHS). It's why very often the most extreme neoliberal reforms take place under authoritarian regimes (Chile being the obvious example).
Deceit is one weapon they deploy frequently and with ease. But more broadly, their weapon is language. It is through language that they are most effective in winning arguments and closing down perfectly rational opposition to their political philosophy. It is their chief weapon against dissent. As Greene and McMenemy argue (£):
"The introduction of the concept of choice for individual public service users is an example of a neoliberal rhetorical tool used to overcome any foreseen resistance to marketisation and restructuring of the public sphere."
Terms such as 'choice' are deployed in such a way as to ensure that opponents of neoliberal philosophy are seen as somehow opposed to 'choice', opposed to the individual being able to exercise their right to 'choose'. Thus any dissent is effectively neutered. After all, what right-thinking person could be opposed to the inalienable right for an individual to choose?
This neutering of debate and hijacking of language is apparent in much of the language we encounter on a day-to-day basis. Presenting a new initiative as 'efficient' or 'progressive', for example, ensures that anyone who disagrees with these positions is easily labelled as somehow 'anti-progress' or as a defender of inefficiency (it's worth noting that in the UK and US the term 'progressive' is used in very different ways by the right-wing. In the UK it is a term embraced by the right for political expediency, the US right-wing sees it as a term of abuse). Neoliberal maneuvering can, therefore, ensure that opponents are seen by the majority as old-fashioned and out-of-touch, even when the opponents are perhaps even more radical and forward-thinking.
We see this frequently across society in general and in terms of our own profession. Those who object to certain language or who question certain new ideas are seen as obstructive, outdated refuseniks who merely hold back both the profession and the institution as a whole. However, I would argue that such voices are not merely naysayers, refusing any hint of 'progress'. They can and do hold 'forward-thinking' ideas that are often truly radical in the sense that they offer an alternative path that sits outside established orthodoxies.
One example of the infiltration of neoliberal ideology is the growing use of the word 'customer'. This is a problematic term for a public service to utilise. Reflecting on an interaction in an art exhibition with a representative of "customer liaison", Doreen Massey notes in her article "Neoliberalism has hijacked our vocabulary":
"The message underlying this use of the term customer for so many different kinds of human activity is that in all almost all our daily activities we are operating as consumers in a market – and this truth has been brought in not by chance but through managerial instruction and the thoroughgoing renaming of institutional practices. The mandatory exercise of "free choice" – of a GP, of a hospital, of schools for one's children – then becomes also a lesson in social identity, affirming on each occasion our consumer identity."
Indeed, as the late Tony Benn explained in an interview for Michael Moore's Sicko, the term 'customer' implies a financial transaction, one where money must pass hands. The implication, therefore, is that if you do not have money you cannot be a customer as you do not have the means to pay for the service. This, of course, gets to the heart of neoliberal doctrine – that everything has its price. The risk of employing such terminology is that it validates neoliberal ideology. Not only validates, but also opens the door to commercial influences and, ultimately, commercial "expertise" (this is why language should be carefully deployed, it ultimately erodes the influence of the professional). After all, if you are going to argue that concepts such as 'customer services' are integral to the delivery of library services, why not get in the 'experts'? However, there are alternatives visions to the relationship between the user and the service. Visions that are not old-fashioned and archaic, but fresh and "forward-thinking" (to adopt clumsy terminology).
Take, for example, Noam Chomsky's view of on an alternative future for higher education:
"First of all, we should put aside any idea that there was once a "golden age." Things were different and in some ways better in the past, but far from perfect. The traditional universities were, for example, extremely hierarchical, with very little democratic participation in decision-making. One part of the activism of the 1960s was to try to democratize the universities, to bring in, say, student representatives to faculty committees, to bring in staff to participate. These efforts were carried forward under student initiatives, with some degree of success. Most universities now have some degree of student participation in faculty decisions. And I think those are the kinds of things we should be moving towards: a democratic institution, in which the people involved in the institution, whoever they may be (faculty, students, staff), participate in determining the nature of the institution and how it runs; and the same should go for a factory."
That seems to me to be a truly forward-thinking and radical idea. Although it is radical only in the sense that the current social and political climate makes it appear radical. Who could argue that this is not a 'forward-thinking' proposition? It rejects standard orthodox thinking, replacing a hierarchical system with something more democratic. Replacing a traditional approach with something alternative, untested and, ultimately, revolutionary.
The alternative path to a customer/service relationship need not be old fashioned and traditionalist. It can be radical, bold and resolutely non-traditional. Rejecting the customer/service relationship need not mean that the refusenik lacks a radical, alternative vision. Indeed, the alternative may be more radical than that which accepts traditional hierarchical structures and operates within broader environmental and political norms. To a certain extent, this radical alternative to the neoliberal customer/service relationship is already being tested in Spain.
Whilst not a perfect example of the kind of structures that could exist as an alternative to the neoliberal model, Mondragon University does offer a more democratic, co-operative system. In comparison to the neoliberal model, it is somewhat radical in that it rejects orthodox hierarchical structures. As Times Higher Education discovered last year:
"The university has a highly democratic governance structure. Its supreme body is the general assembly, a 30-strong committee of representatives composed of one-third staff, one-third students and one-third outside interested parties, often other co-ops in Mondragon Corporation [note: Mondragon Corporation is the overall federation of workers cooperatives which includes Mondragon University]. It meets annually to decide on the priorities for the coming year and has significant powers: it can, for example, sack members of the senior management team. (It last used this power in 2007 when one manager was dismissed, according to Altuna.)
"Mondragon is also highly decentralised. "We say that the chancellor [also known as the rector] has less power than the deans," says the current holder of the top post, Iosu Zabala Iturralde. (Zabala appears to be the only member of staff who wears a tie – but he does not go as far as wearing a suit jacket.)"
This alternative to the neoliberal model is forward-thinking in outlook. Embracing a system that enables all stakeholders to be actively involved in the governance of the institution. The alternative to neoliberalism is not, therefore, backward or 'anti-progress'. It is clearly more forward-thinking and 'progressive' than the neoliberal model that merely shifts hierarchies whilst factoring in cynical exploitative economics.
Opponents of increasing neoliberal language and ideas are not always, therefore, regressive unreconstructed dinosaurs. The alternative vision is not necessarily one that sees a return to an old fashioned way of delivering a service. It can be just as forward-thinking and 'radical', if not more so as it abandons the hierarchies beloved of traditionalists and neoliberals. And yet still to question neoliberal language and ideas is to be seen as a defender of an 'old order'. As an 'obstacle' to progress. As someone that is holding back the profession and the institution. Why should this be?
There is an alternative to the neoliberal model. We can create a system that rejects neoliberal ideology and embraces something new, alternative and radical, something that is distinct from existing norms. We can create a system that is co-operative, democratic and that ensures all stakeholders have an equal say in the delivery of services. This alternative is forward-thinking and radical. The problem is, how to deploy language?
At present there is a lack of clarity regarding what makes a radical, non-traditional alternative to the customer/service or neoliberal models that seem so dominant at present. It is difficult to coherently express this vision when the terms of debate and language have been co-opted by a neoliberal agenda. But it is vitally important to ensure that those that reject the current terms of the debate are not dismissed as irrelevant or as a block on 'progress'. The alternatives are radical. The alternative is a break from existing orthodoxies. It just hasn't yet been communicated effectively. If we can communicate the alternative effectively, maybe it could be possible to construct a model that re-casts the relationship between the institution and the user as less cynical and more co-operative.


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Winter / Christmas | Winter | Cozy | Christmas Decor | XMAS on @weheartit.com - http://whrt.it/TADtb9
Untitled 3000 on Flickr.
I shot this for my film class ,but took a few digital shots. And I'm sharing them with you tumblr folks. I want to do a series like this so who wants to let me shoot them?:)


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The Great Debate UK
UK chancellor has mixed message for gilt investors
– Ian Campbell is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
The UK sounds Greek again. Britain's new government is finding skeletons in the fiscal cupboard. George Osborne, the incoming chancellor of the exchequer, is appointing an independent watchdog to check the numbers out. The gilt market perhaps ought to recoil at the revelation that things are even worse than thought. But it's more likely to look on the bright side: coalition honeymoon, transparency and rectitude to come.
UK government bonds will for now probably continue defying threats that kill in the Aegean. A record peacetime deficit, an inflation rate of 3.4 percent, a plunging pound: no matter, UK 10-year paper has risen in value by about 2 percent this year and yields a miserly 3.8 percent. But while Osborne's deficit-cutting commitment will reassure, the medium-term risks to gilts remain great.
Gilts' appeal is largely relative. UK debt levels have worsened appallingly — but are not yet appalling. Britain, like the United States, is rightly judged to have a more adaptable economy than the euro zone's. The pound can weaken, helping competitiveness and growth and therefore favouring rebalancing of the government's accounts.
But the growth that can save is not strongly in evidence now. Mervyn King, the Bank of England governor, has warned of possible growth disappointment as fiscal cuts kick in. Ironically this is another factor supporting gilts. Inflation is up, but is expected to be dragged down by economic weakness. That means interest rates will probably remain low, favouring bonds.
Still, gilts investors cannot be complacent. The fiscal deficit is huge but money-printing — quantitative easing — exceeded it in the year to March. Spencer Dale, the BoE's chief economist, speculated last week that QE had taken about one percentage point off gilt yields. Unless the economy worsens, the BoE is unlikely to resume gilt purchases. And one day it must start selling its gilt mountain.
There are other big risks. The coalition honeymooners may fall out. The economic turnaround will be extremely hard to generate. And Osborne's fiscal surgery may half kill the patient. For a UK that has much to do to stop its debt spiralling, gilt returns look poor. But the remarkable bonds may smile through the honeymoon all the same.
UK's green agenda needs selling to investors
– Alexander Smith is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
Britain's new coalition government wants to cut the country's carbon footprint as well as its colossal deficit. But the alliance's more ambitious green policies sound expensive — especially for an administration whose priority is fiscal discipline. Private sector involvement will be critical. And investors may take some convincing.
New UK coalition deserves 7 out of 10
– Hugo Dixon is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
The new UK coalition deserves 7 out of 10. The pact between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, led by David Cameron as the new prime minister, seems determined to address the country's most important problem — the deficit. This is vital given that the euro zone debt crisis could still prove contagious. It should also be positive for sterling.
Gordon Brown: flawed saviour of financial system
– Hugo Dixon is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
Gordon Brown may go down in history as the flawed saviour of the global financial system. Brown had many faults including overseeing a public spending splurge in his decade as the nation's finance minister. But he did make one big contribution. He galvanised other leaders to save the bank system during the post-Lehman <LEHMQ.PK> meltdown.
Eerie calm before Britain's election
– James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
To look at sterling and gilts, you would hardly know that Britain is sailing into a general election which will likely deliver a weaker government with a diminished ability, if not will, to grapple with high debts, an uncertain role in the global economy and an aging population.
Breaking up banks is no silver bullet
– Hugo Dixon is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
Breaking up the banks is no silver bullet. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic — including two of the party leaders fighting the UK election — want to separate so-called casino investment banks from utility lenders. But such simple rules would create arbitrage opportunities and rigidities without curbing excess risk-taking.
Weak UK recovery argues for consensus on cuts
– Ian Campbell is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
A first estimate of UK first-quarter growth is a chilly 0.2 percent. Failure of government policy, the opposition will say. Shows the folly of proposed Conservative spending cuts and tax increases, Gordon Brown, the prime minister, will claim. But a colder financial look will see that enormous stimulus has so far produced the weakest of recoveries. Whatever the election outcome, the UK's leaders are going to have to be grown-ups. In this emergency, cooperation – or coalition – is required.
Inflation impoverishes Britons the easy way
– The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
Critics might say the UK's inflation target is just for fun. Consumer prices were 3.4 percent higher in March than in the previous year, well above the 2 percent target rate, but the Bank of England will do nothing at all.
If the central bank were serious, shouldn't it raise interest rates and crush every bit of life out of the UK economy? Not really. The UK has above target inflation because world oil prices are high, the pound is low and VAT is up. But it has inflation for poorer and richer.
Fears of UK hung parliament may be overstated
– The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
Fears of a hung parliament following the UK's general election may be overstated. With Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, Britain's third largest party, performing well in the first prime ministerial debate, sterling has received a mild knock. Investors do not like the uncertainty that goes with a hung parliament. While many European countries are used to coalition government, the UK is traditionally a two-party system – with government swinging between Labour and the Conservatives.
Crisis, what crisis?
– The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. –
Crisis, what crisis? That could be motto for the election manifestos published by Britain's main political parties this week. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives addressed the country's fiscal crisis head-on.


text:
Digital radios: A new calling plan
Key components of an interoperable digital radio network include:
Central control equipment — Handles authentication and users' access privileges. Also houses firewalls for security.
Base stations — Main radio links to connect control centers with field radios.
IP connections — Physical network links to connect base stations and control centers. Typically, the links are T1 lines from telecommunications providers, private microwave dishes or fiber network connections within municipalities.
Repeaters — Radios programmed to relay signals to remote areas away from the IP
Handsets — For in-field voice and data communications. Federal agencies require compliance with encryption regulations.
About the Author
Alan Joch is a freelance writer based in New Hampshire.
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text: I've seen the D-Link DSM520 MediaLounge Wireless HD Media Player for a lower price, but Buy.com currently has the best price. This device can stream HD video wirelessly through your home, and can access content from Internet radio station as well as a UBS flash drive port. They've got it for $149.99 – $50 mail-in-rebate + free shipping = $99.99 shipped!


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Sun Drop - 12 oz. cans - 18 pk.
by Sun Drop | Item #: 211369 |
Enjoy Sun Drop, the deliciously citrusy soda.
- 24 cans total
- Delicious and refreshing citrus soda
- Great for vending and c-stores
Ingredients: Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, contains less than 2% of: citric acid, orange juice concentrate, sodium benzoate (preservative), caffeine, natural flavors, acacia gum, yellow 5, ester gum, brominated vegetable oil.
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text:
My mom claimed that she only wanted one thing for Mother's day: RED VELVET WAFFLES. She doesn't usually eat sweet and savory foods, so I was happy to oblige. :D
Red Velvet Waffles
(Makes about 8 Belgian Waffles)
Waffle Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder (I lost count and used five!)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (or use white sugar)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 oz melted butter ( or ½ stick)
- 1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk (or milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice added)
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 3oz softened cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
- Pinch of cinnamon
My mission was to perfect a vanilla cake recipe comparable to my chocolate cake recipe. People would always ask me if I made 'plain, regular, vanilla, or yellow' cake, and I was tired of saying no. I don't like dry, crumbly cake. I need my cake to be soft and bursting with flavor. I think I finally got it right.
Moist Very Vanilla Cupcakes (Makes 24-30 cupcakes or one 9 x 13 sheet cake)
3 cups flour 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature or partially melted) 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 3 heaping tbs mayonnaise 1 1/3 cup butter milk 3 tsp vanilla extract (Yes… This is not a typo!)
3 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature or partially melted)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 heaping tbs mayonnaise
1 1/3 cup butter milk
3 tsp vanilla extract (Yes… This is not a typo!)
Working on another bean soup.
- Simple to prepare
- Easy to digest
- Healthy, tasty and filling
- Cheap, cheap, cheap!
Got several requests for a recipe! Here it goes:
Po'Boy Bean Soup
This take on a hearty soup was conceived when I was stuck in my apartment during a snowstorm. I was living in Maryland and had very little money for groceries; I only bought food on sale, and shopped biweekly because the store was far.
To keep this recipe frugal, purchase dried beans in bulk when they are on sale at your local market. Often, you can find 1lb bags of beans for under $1, which is more bang for your buck than salted, and random chemical-ized canned beans. Maybe I'll make a post about pantry staples?
This recipe is vegan, but can be used to make any clear-broth soup base with minor modifications, such as adding noodles, or cooked chicken.
Two quick conversions to remember:
1 cup dry beans = 3 cups cooked beans
1 cup dry beans = 2 cups liquid
- 2 cups assortment of three or four varieties of dried beans and peas (Easy to find beans and peas include Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Split Peas, Garbanzos/Chickpeas, Navy Beans, Black Eyed Peas, Lima Beans, Pink Beans, Pinto Beans, White Beans and Lentils)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (optional)
- 1 8-12oz can tomato soup (can be substituted with low-sodium vegetable broth or omitted for 1 cup water)
- 7 cups of water (can be substituted with low-sodium vegetable broth)
- 6 cups water (for rapid boiling of beans)
- 2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper (for heat- optional)
- 1 clove roasted garlic (or 2 tbsp garlic powder)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Sort and rinse beans under warm water using a strainer.
- Allow beans to soak in six cups of water over night. For a quicker soaking method, pour rinsed beans into a large dutch pot filled with six cups of water. Bring beans to boil for three minutes; remove from fire and allow beans to sit for 1 hour.
- Strain beans out of sitting water, and bring 7 fresh cups of water or vegetable broth to boil. Add beans and reduce heat to simmer. Allow beans to simmer for 1 - 1.5 hrs on low heat. After 1 hour has passed, stir in diced tomatoes, sauce, and all spices.
- Serve warm with bread or crackers.
Working on another bean soup.
- Simple to prepare
- Easy to digest
- Healthy, tasty and filling
- Cheap, cheap, cheap!
Po' Boy Bean Soup
Amazing, buttery soft cornbread
I got greedy and decided why not? (As you can see, I didn't even reach for a proper plate. Or a fork.) This is supposed to be my birthday cake, but knowing me, it'll be gone before tomorrow.
I was going to make frosting, but I didn't have unsalted sticks of butter on hand. Plus, I'm a big fan of buttercream or white whipped frosting; I haven't made either by hand. Instead, I dusted confectioner's sugar on top and called it a day.
I would share but errah…
This simple baked pasta should be a staple in your home. It's quick, it's easy, it's HUGE, and it lasts. All you need to add is your choice of vegetables steamed, sauteed, boiled, or raw. Also, this recipe can be made healthier if you follow the modifications in italics.
Food Fotos:
Breakfast. Buttermilk Belgian Waffles, Andouille Sausage, Cheddar Omlet
Food Fotos:
Leftovers. Baked Chicken Thigh, Garlic Asparagus, Buttermilk Biscuits
Food Fotos:
Garlic-Rosemary Potato Chips, Sweet Peas and Carrots, Pan-seared Jerk Tilapia
I learned how to make empanadas in middle school with my Cubana/Dominicana Spanish instructor. I'm not Latina, so I've added the 'Africana' since my recipe is not authentic. lol I've always switched up the fillings, but I always make the dough by hand. This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and twenty minutes to bake. Have one of your favorite albums ready to play when you begin.
Do not read further if you care about calories, cholesterol, or salt. Sorry, but sometimes we have to indulge. The dough and filling can be made vegan very easily. :D
Click for recipe.


text:
Instagram is like an amusement park of cool photos. The fun thing about it is that you can look through tons of gorgeous and creative images, taken by all kinds of different people from all over the world, but it doesn't end there – you can share your own photos at any given time and spice them up with Instagram filters.
That's why we really love the Wix account on Instagram. We get to browse through awesome photos like the ones here below, AND we can share our very own Wix Instagram photos with the whole world!
Here are the best photos we've seen on Instagram this week:
Follow Wix on Instagram and check out our photos!
Tagged with: Instagram . Instagram Photos of the Week . Photography showcase


text: Comments on: Who's the candidate of the rich? It's not even close. Back to the article » By Timothy P. Carney | November 5, 2012 | 12:00 am In Virginia, the state that could clinch the election for Barack Obama, those with incomes over $100,000 are voting 57-42 for Obama, according to Rasmussen's latest poll. Nationwide, Obama is leading among six-figure earners 50-45, according to Rasmussen. Four years ago, Obama won $150k-plus earners by two points, because he won $200k+ voters by 6 points, according to exit polls. Democrats will... Web URL: http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2512620 Share this article on Facebook or Twitter Print this article


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Posted by Unknown on 23rd Jul 2012
Bought this and one of the custom pads to use on my snowboard boots as I get a lot of heel lift due to having a narrow heel. I ended up cutting my own custom shape and it worked like a treat. Very easy to cut.
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text:
Cebuanos pad PAL Interclub lead to three
CEBU – Defending champion Cebu Country Club pooled 130 second round points yesterday to pad its lead over Del Monte to three points halfway through the 66th playing of the Philippine Airlines Interclub's Men's championship division.
Marko Sarmiento fired a two-over-par 74 worth 34 points and lawyer Jovi Neri and former club champion Eric Deen shot 33s to anchor the Cebuanos' steady output over their well-manicured homecourse here for a two-day 250.
Andre Borromeo's 30 was the final score for Cebu CC as eight-time club champion and playing skipper Ramontito Garcia struggled off the tees to have his 29 thrown away.
Lawrence Cubillo and Reymon Jaraulla assembled 33s and Magnao Arancon returned a 32 to make up Del Monte's 128 and 247 overall.
Jets Sajulga's 30 counted as the fourth score for the Bukidnon-based bets, the 2011 champions who discarded the 28 of Julius Bautista.
"A lead is still a lead," Garcia told scribes after the round, expressing satisfaction that they are still in the driver's seat – though barely – heading into the final two rounds of the country's unofficial team golf championship.
"We're still very happy," he continued. "Tomorrow, if we increase our lead, the better. Our strongest lineup will still be on the final day, hopefully our experience (over Cebu Country Club) counts."
Keanu Jahns, a 6-foot-2 half-German, returned the tournament's first sub-par card in the division's final flight, a 69 worth 39 points to usher Alabang to a second day 125 that kept it in third spot, now five points behind the pace.
Gabriel Manotoc shot 31 points, Jama Reyes added a 30 and Miguel Shah a 28 to complete scoring for Alabang. Santi Lorenzo failed to count with a 23.
Jahns had five birdies against two bogeys in the lowest round of the tournament thus far, missing the chance to go lower by muffing a putter-length putt for par on the ninth hole – his last – to settle for a 69.
"It could have been better had it not been for my putting and short game woes," said Jahns, who admitted expecting to play in the final day again because Mactan Islang Golf Club, the site of third round action today, "doesn't fit my eye very well."
Sta. Elena remained in fourth spot– but now 51 points behind and totally out of it all – after firing just 102 points built around Jingy Tuason's 32 points.
Play returns to tight and hard Mactan today and Cebu CC was deep in a team meeting after the round, devising a lineup that would enable them to field the best possible finishers for the final round tomorrow.|
Meanwhile, Negros seized the Founders division lead, also at Cebu CC, after also shooting 130 points for 233.
Chris Infante and Jae Woo-yang paced Negros with 33 points apiece with the veteran Francis Gaston and Chepe Dulay adding 32s as it slipped past first round leader Orchard, which tallied just 118 for 232.
The PAL Interclub is being sponsored by the Department of Tourism, 105.1 Crossover, Solar Sports, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, 92.3 FM Radyo 5, Araneta Coliseum and AXN. Major sponsors are Airbus, Manila Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine Broadcasting Network, People Asia, Radio Mindanao Network, Business Mirror and ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC).
Corporate sponsors include Radisson Blu Hotel, Shangri-La Resort & Spa, Boeing, Inquirer Golf Magazine, Philippines Graphic and Manila Bulletin.


text:
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Now browsing: Hometown News > Crime Report > Volusia County
Wanted person: Reef Blake Myers
Birth date: July 5, 1977
Distinguishing features: Tattoos on left wrist and arm; scar on right leg
Reason wanted: Absconded Sex Offender
Last known location: Daytona Beach
Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida is seeking information on the whereabouts of 36-year-old Reef Blake Myers. As a convicted sex offender, Myers is required to maintain his address on record with law enforcement and regularly update his address.
After Myers missed his last re-registration deadline and law enforcement was unable to locate him or confirm that he was still living at his address of record on Eagle Drive in Daytona Beach, an arrest warrant was issued on Feb. 14, charging Myers with failure of a sex offender to properly register.
Myers is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs about 220 pounds and has black hair and green eyes. If you see Myers or know where he is, don't attempt to apprehend him. Anyone with information regarding Myers' whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers toll-free at (888) 277-TIPS. You can also Text your tip by texting "TIP231 plus your message" to CRIMES. Anyone who provides information to Crime Stoppers will remain anonymous and can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.
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text:
Back support was exactly what i was looking for.
Elastic Back Support Belt
Item # WX2-581541
- Google+
- Details & Specs
Elastic Back Support Belt... protect and support your back!
Got some heavy lifting to do? Don't risk injury, lift the right way with the proper support from this comfortable Elastic Back Support Belt. The stretchy elastic construction means all-day comfort. Thanks to our Close-Out buy, you can get your Back Support for LESS!A little extra support:
- 8"w. heavy-duty elastic back panel
- 5"w. elastic side bands for comfort
- 1 1/4"w. elastic adjustable suspenders
- 4 internal stays provide extra support
- Tapered front panels for comfort when bending. Fits both men and women. One size fits most. Weighs 11 ozs.
Give your back a boost, order ONLINE now!
!!! Limited Quantities !!!
- Reviews
Customer Reviews
Just what I expected!
This is the best back support belt at a great price and my back is thanking me right now!
Nothing really wrong with the product or price. You need to know, however, that the sizing description "fits most" is misleading .... This would be best suited to a 30 - 34 inch waistline.
Tried Back support and it worked very well. This one is for my young son that has back problems. He says it helps greatly.
Better than anything I have seen locally. Only issue is it seems to be a second, one side of the suspenders is twisted but still works.
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