Drawing on recent teaching experiences in two intermediate-level classes, this paper showcases the ways through which librarians can help students interrogate structural issues in knowledge creation. Through class discussions and projects, students engaged with information at both individual sources and system levels. They confronted hidden…

The structural inequalities perpetuated by the caste system are a grave challenge to creating a just society. The education system pays short shrift to this topic and caste discrimination is spoken about without holding caste privilege accountable. Historically, social justice is a core mission of libraries. This project worked closely with a…

Organizations are being called upon to take responsibility for the ways their operations impact societies especially the marginalized sectors. Libraries are not exempt from such social responsibility. The paper proposes a theoretical framework for Library Social Responsibility. The paper briefly traces the history of library services for the poor.…

Introduction: Our paper describes three examples of how public libraries in at-risk-neighbourhoods have worked with social innovations in order to develop and strengthen their services for minority groups. The libraries were chosen because they are frontrunners in the field of cultural diversity and social inclusion in Denmark. Method: The…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This special issue presents a report released by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Joint Task…

The increasing prevalence of digital information systems and technologies compels libraries across the globe to update systems and provide users with a digital experience outside the confines of the structural library, providing useful benefits to the user while creating new areas of concern such as digital information preservation.…

In 1967 the School of Library and Information Services of the University of Maryland received a grant from the U.S. Office of Education for a demonstration project to prepare students for service to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. The innovative core of this program was a laboratory library located in one of the black ghettos of…

This document presents a "bibliographic timeline" spanning 25 years of the American Library Association (ALA), Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS). For each year (1968-1996), one or more major activities, resolutions/ALA proceedings, and/or publications involving library service to the disadvantaged are identified.…

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Social Responsibilities Discussion Group was officially established in December 1997 to address the role of libraries in society. The group is initially concentrating on the following themes: equality of access to library collections and facilities; the growing gap…

This summative evaluation of the Public Library Services to Disadvantaged Populations Grant program describes how the grant program is meeting its stated objectives, how it is contributing to library development in Texas, and how Texas State Library activities and policy impact the program. The Texas State Library initiated this grant program with…