work in libraries, whether this is being progressed as a result of individual ini- tiatives and working groups or through more systematic approaches, is harder to know.
And where does Narrative Expansions fit into that picture?
RE: Narrative Expansions is a compila- tion of interpretations about ‘decolonisa- tion’ in libraries and how these inter- pretations are put into practice within institutional contexts. The book is not meant to provide solutions, but to share current practice. It will be interesting to see how this practice evolves. The book was created during an interesting time in history: the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trump era, the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent global Black Lives Matter protests. When we review the essays and case studies in the book in a few years’ time, will we have the same convictions? Will the approaches taken be sustainable? Or will we simply move on to the next pressing issue?
And following on from that, Who is the book for? How and why should they use it? What are the benefits for an institution that moves to decolonise?
You talk about the movement to decolonise the university and the curriculum moving from the fringes to the mainstream – how is that manifesting itself?
RE: The movement to ‘decolonise the cur- riculum’ originated through student activism from the Rhodes Must Fall campaign at University of Capetown in 2015 and later at Oxford University through to the ‘Why is My Curriculum So White’ campaign at UCL in 2016. Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, the National Union of Students (NUS) Vice President for Higher Education, opens the main body of the book with her personal reflections about the definition of the term ‘decolonisation’ and speaks passionately about collective action with the NUS to reimagine education that ‘challenges racism, colonisation and imperialism’ and embraces ‘cultural, psycho- logical and economic freedom’. I would say that engagement with the movement by university staff members was at individual rather than institution-level. Individual staff members worked with stu-
22 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
dents to understand what ‘decolonisation’ meant in practice and pedagogically. Those individual efforts evolved into the formation of working groups at many institutions, as discussed in the case studies in the book. Critical analysis of collections is the starting point for most library services. This analysis then progresses to metadata, procurement practices, spatial imagery, inclusive peda- gogy, etc. And going back to the Keele Uni- versity Manifesto, the critical analysis must also include the cultural representations and power dynamics within institutions. Is the leadership representative of the stakehold- ers: students, staff, local community?
JC: I have noticed the term decolonisation, and certainly decolonising work, coming into Teaching & Learning Strategies, the work of pedagogic experts in universities, in staff development, library strategies and policies2
, as well as more recently into
anti-racist strategies, so in that sense it is becoming more mainstream. Decolonis- ing the curriculum is not a quick or trivial undertaking, and nor is decolonising
RE: The book will be of particular interest to LIS professionals who will be thinking critically about their practice and the audiences that they educate. However, for anyone seeking to under- stand what “decolonisation” means, it provides a range of interpretations in a single collection. Although the book will not and does not seek to provide defini- tive answers, it explains how others have approached the topic within their insti- tutional or personal contexts. So, readers will take from the essays and case studies that which is relevant to them.
JC: I hope it’s also useful for LIS students. We are facing multiple and interrelated pandemics, of health, rac- ism, and climate – and need multiple sources of knowledge, a plurality of narratives to try to understand and address them. There are also issues of knowledge justice, and who we recog- nise as a producer of knowledge, and who is excluded.
When you were editing the book, was there anything that particu- larly surprised you? (Perhaps something that is not immediately apparent).
RE: There were no surprises to me, but I most enjoyed reading about the experiences of international colleagues. Rachel Chong and Ashley Edwards’ chapter discusses the process of recon- ciling with the colonial past of Canada and challenging its institutions, struc- tures, and knowledge to acknowledge
April-May 2022
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