Dear Colleagues,
*****JUST ONE WEEK TO GO*****
This is the final call for articles: 'Decolonizing the art library'. The Art Libraries Journal is seeking submissions from libraries who have embarked on substantive ways to address the historic and contemporary marginalization and omission of colonized peoples. Projects can be under-way or completed, and from anywhere in the world. Perhaps you presented a project at the ARLIS/UK & Ireland conference in Glasgow and would like to turn it into an article. Possible topics include aspects of collection management, cataloguing, information or visual literacy, user outreach, or personnel. It is not just about book shelves, but also our databases, service desks, even the fundamental art discourses in our institutions.
This will be the topic for the IFLA Art Libraries Section satellite meeting in conjunction with the IFLA WLIC next year in Dublin. The planning for that is only just underway and I am not sure when their call for papers will go out. However, at this year's section meeting in Athens, I alerted them to the fact that this issue is being planned for late 2020 and they were very supportive. As some of you may know, the Art Libraries Journal has a long tradition of publishing papers from the Art Libraries Section at the IFLA WLIC. So if you are thinking about submitting a paper for the satellite meeting, please also consider submitting an abstract now for consideration in this special issue of the journal.
The issue is slated for publication in autumn 2020, so after the Congress. It will be jointly edited by Daniel Payne of OCAD University, Toronto and ALJ editor Erica Foden-Lenahan. We see this a complement to the recent ALJ issue on critical librarianship (vol.44, no.2, 2019), which introduced the topic of reflection on various aspects of library practice that have embodied the structures of colonization, domination over, and marginalization of many people in our societies.
This issue seeks to move beyond theory, to publish tangible examples of libraries' efforts to redress colonial legacies. Although these histories vary widely throughout the world, it is hoped this issue would provide practical examples to inspire and motivate others to identify and tackle these legacies in art and museum libraries.Please send a short description of your article proposal to Erica Foden-Lenahan ([log in to unmask]) by the end of September and we would aim to notify contributors before 1 November, with an article submission deadline of 1 April 2020.
Please forward this call on to other lists where you think there would be interest.
Best wishes,
Erica Foden-Lenahan
Editor, Art Libraries Journal
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe
