Sasekea Harris

The Cultural Politics of Librarianship: Imperialism or Nationalism? Sasekea Harris

The standard perception of librarians is that they are custodians, non-professionals and that the activities they engage are simple, easy and without diversity. Consequently, the correlation between librarians and development is usually perceived as being weak. This book highlights the scope of librarianship and the development value in the activities of librarians. Through the lens of the development theories of modernization and dependency, librarians? activities are depicted as being infused with power relations and value positions. In this regard their work can be interpreted as setting out a socio-cultural terrain that enables the construction of colonial and anti-colonial identities and cultures. As such, the activities of librarians can no longer be regarded as neutral as they are implicated in the contest of ideas about what kind of post-colonial nation is desired: whose culture and whose power?