Fugitive Libraries

Then someone else — often a person of color — will share the equally accurate observation that libraries are not universally welcoming spaces. Consider this: At last count, 87 percent of American librarians were white.  Stories of patrons and librarians facing discrimination or hostility for their race, class, sexual identity, or disability are common.  And libraries reinforce conventions of cultural production rooted in colonialist, white supremacist, and heteronormative values — including classification systems and models of intellectual property birthed centuries ago.