Previous MSc Theses

"Radical Choice? The Roots of the Radical Librarian Movement in 19th Century Radical Politics and an Analysis of Contemporary Radical Librarianship Ideology and Activity." R. Walker. D. McMenemy. Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde. 2015. Download PDF (BibTeX)

Abstract:
Abstract
The Progressive Librarians' Guild in the United States and the Radical Librarians' Collective in the United Kingdom are two organisations that support a radical approach to librarianship. The Progressive Librarians' Guild was formed in 1990, but the roots of a radical approach to librarianship can be traced back much further with the Progressive Librarians' Council running from 1939 to 1949 in the US and the Librarians for Social Change in the UK from 1972 to 1986. It is the intention of this paper to investigate what the various organisations that call or have called themselves 'radical' actually do or believe; investigate whether any roots of 19th Century radical politics and philosophy can be found in the formation of the UK and US Public Library systems; and if the term 'radicalism', in relation to librarianship, can actually be defined. This research will take the form of a Literature Review.