Information For Social Change - Editorial Board Members

Editorial Board Members

Information for Social Change is primarily facilitated by a small group of contributors who also oversee the daily running of the Web site, journal and other activities; the Editorial Board members contribute to ISC discussions (via the ISC committee email list), support the development of the ISC journal, liaise with article contributors, maintain links with individuals in external organisations, arrange events, conferences and workshops in partnership with external bodies and maintain the ISC Web site; additionally, many members of the Editorial board contribute articles and other writing to the ISC journal.

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Editors are Editorial Board members who volunteer to coordinate an individual journal issue, focusing on a particular topic or theme; there may be several editors for any particular issue. Special Issue Editors are the primary contact(s) for their own individual special issue (i.e. for contributor submissions). Once a special issue is published, the role of the Special Editor comes to an end, however, these individuals may continue to act as a point of contact for their issue and associated specialist topic. ISC encourages the practice of appointing Special Issue Editors outside the Editorial Board.

Current ISC Board Members :

• John Pateman : John has written many articles on aspects of social exclusion – especially social class – community development, internationalism and libraries in Cuba. He was a member of the government working group which produced Libraries for all: social inclusion in public libraries (1999) and of the research team which produced Open to All? The Public Library and Social Exclusion (2000). He was a member of the CILIP Policy Action Group on Social Exclusion which produced Making a Difference - Innovation and Diversity (2002). He has written a publication on Developing a Needs Based Library Service (2003) as part of the NIACE Lifelines in adult learning series. In 2006 he co-authored with John Vincent two chapters in the British Librarianship and Information Work series: ‘From Equal Opportunities to Social Exclusion’ (1991–2000) and ‘From Social Inclusion to Community Cohesion’ (2001–2005).

• Ruth Rikowski : Ruth now has over 50 published articles and reviews, in a variety of journals, largely on the topics of globalisation, knowledge management and computers/information technology. She is developing a whole body of theory around these topics - an Open Marxist theoretical perspective – see, for example, her article On the impossibility of determining the length of the working-day for intellectual labour, in Information for Social Change, Issue 19. Her book Globalisation, Information and Libraries: the implications of the World Trade Organisation’s GATS and TRIPS Agreements was published in February 2005, with Chandos publishers. The book builds on her many published articles on the topic, which have been published in a variety of journals, including the IFLA Journal, Managing Information, Business Information Review and The Commoner. A paper of hers on Globalisation and Libraries was also published in the UK House of Lords Report on Globalisation, in 2002. Ruth has given many talks around her subject interests to a variety of audiences, including students and staff in universities, various left-wing organisations and library and information conferences and shows. She has also been on radio programmes.

• Gill Harris

• Martyn Lowe : Information worker & Political Activist. Born November 1949. Active in the Peace Movement since 1968. Involved within:
  • Librarians Within The Peace Movement (L.W.P.M.) Co-founder. 1989.
  • Co-editing the L.W.P.M. Journal AIR (Alternative Information Record). 1990-1993.
  • Greenpeace(London). 1973-1985.
  • The Anti Falkland War Support Network. 1982.
  • The War Resisters' International (W.R.I.) A volunteer in the International secretariat since 1985.
  • Co-founder of Information for Social Change.
  • Archive held in the International Institute of Social History - Amsterdam.

• John Vincent : Since 1999, John has been the Networker for "The Network - tackling social exclusion in libraries, museums, archives and galleries", running training courses and conferences, producing a monthly newsletter, and working on specific projects (such as the Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded project to advocate the role that libraries play in supporting children and young people in care; and Phase 2 of "Welcome to Your Library").

• Kingsley Oghojafor : Kingsley Oghojafor, a graduate of mass communication, lives in Nigeria. Kingsley is a freelance writer and an author who has written several articles and books including topics such as self-publishing, regional issues and IT.

• Mikael Böök : As a young man Mikael studied philosophy, sociology and history at the university of Helsinki. Mikael has engaged in various roles within social and educational organisations in his native Finland. Later in life, he became an internet service provider and a web-publisher. Mikael plays a particular role as a commentator, speaker and writer within the World Social Form, which he has attended on many occasions.

• Toni Samek : Developed and introduced a graduate course at the University of Alberta titled “Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility in Librarianship”. The course runs annually. Of the approximately 15 (a disappointing number) stand-alone intellectual freedom courses currently offered in North American library and information schools, this is the only course that provides a direct and upfront link between the concepts of social responsibility and intellectual freedom. Indeed, the course begins with discussion and exploration of intellectual freedom as a “contested” concept. Toni is also the author of the 2001 book Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility in American Librarianship, 1967–1974, published by McFarland & Company Inc, Publishers, U.S.A. (In 2003, the book was published in Japanese translation by the Kyoto University Library and Information Science Study Group.) The historical work examines the American Library Association’s profound and contentious professional identity crisis during the Vietnam War. The book’s present day relevance is most notable in its treatment of library neutrality and librarianship in time of war, revolution, and social change.

• Helen Raduntz : Helen Raduntz is an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Centre of Research in Education, Equity and Work, University of South Australia, whose career has involved working in industry and secondary education, education union activism, and academic teaching and research. Subsequent to her doctoral research she has continued her interests in the development of a Marxian critique for contemporary capitalism, in the continuing impact of marketisation on education and education for social change, and in mounting a critique on the subject of intellectual property and the work of information professionals. Among her publications is a chapter entitled ‘The Marketisation of Education within the Global Capitalist Economy’ published in 2005 in the book Globalising Public Education: Policies, Pedagogy and Politics, edited by Michael W. Apple, Jane Kenway and Michael Singh, and published by Peter Lang Publishing, New York.

• Anders Ericson : Editor of the news column of the web site of the Norwegian Library Association. Formerly chief librarian of a small public library and librarian at two university colleges, in pedagogy and engineering.

• Edgardo Civallero : Started working in LIS social issues in 2001, developing libraries in indigenous and rural communities in northern Argentina. He became involved with the IFLA and UDC editorial board, and with Open Access Initiatives in Latin America, and with several LIS Journals' editorial boards. Edgardo maintains a weblog bitacora de un bibliotecario, with an English version named The log of a librarian . Edgardo also gives classes, conferences and workshops on LIS social activism and the social role of librarians.

• Paul Catherall : Paul has helped to re-design the ISC Web pages for World Wide Web Convention (W3C) Web standards and accessibility compliance and contributes articles for the ISC journal, he is also a committee member of the Career Development Group Wales, which seeks to support and develop the skills of library and information workers. Paul's current research includes educational applications of the World Wide Web, e-learning and Web accessibility. Paul also maintains an E-learning Information Portal and has written a text on this subject entitled Delivering e-learning for Information Services in Higher Education, available from Chandos Publishing. Paul also dabbles in illustration seen in his illustrated book of poems Foibles, Frolics and Phantasms - Illustrated Poems 1995 - 2005 in aid of Cancer Research UK.