Work

The Public Library as Resistive Space in the Neoliberal City

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: With reduced hours, decaying infrastructure, and precariously positioned staff, local public libraries provide much needed services in cities devastated by inequality and slashed safety nets. In this article, I draw on ethnographic research of a small public library in a diverse, mostly working class neighborhood in Queens, New York. I show that in addition to providing an alternative to the capitalist market by distributing resources according to people's needs, the library serves as a moral underground space, where middle–class people bend rules to help struggling city residents. Although the library occasionally replicates hegemonic ideologies about immigrant assimilation, it provides a striking example of cross–class and interclass solidarities and resistance to the neoliberal social order. I conclude by discussing the potential of public libraries as everyday spaces of subversion and emancipation, as well as research sites for urban scholars.

Source: City and Community

DOI: 10.1111/cico.12417

Author: Sofya Aptekar

Institution: University of Massachusetts Boston

Language: English

Topic: Library Science and Administration

Subfield: Library and Information Sciences

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung Multireligiöser und Multiethnischer Gesellschaften, European Research Council, H2020 European Research Council