Looking to decolonize your public library? Address Aporophobia First

• Main Authors: John Pateman, Margaret Demillo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: ISC Collective 2021-03-01
• Series: Information for Social Change
• Subjects: canada; decolonisation; indigenous community; library; library services; thunder bay library
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4603293
• ISSN: 1364-694X; 1756-901X

This article will examine some of the deeper conversations that need to happen before a public library can fully institute a decolonization and reconciliation plan. Using mass observation as evidence, the authors argue that acts of discrimination are often mistaken as racism, when in many cases the ‘us versus them’ mentality is rooted in a perverse and often unconscious fear of poverty and of the poor. A decolonization plan cannot be fully implemented until aporophobia and to a greater extent, the confines of capitalistic society are fully understood by library staff.