Hello everyone! We hope this finds you all well. Please feel free to read this as a pdf document.
Archiving is Activism!
Dear Friends,
This month we are happy to announce the re-establishment of the Network of Radical Archives and Libraries (NORLA). Originally based at the amazing Bishopsgate Institute in London, Covid and transport costs saw it decline, but the growth of interest in independent radical projects has brought it back to life. Not least amongst these spaces is the beautifully refurbished Library on the top floor of Bradford’s famous 1 in 12 Club, also celebrating an anniversary. As part of the festivities, they hosted a gathering with projects such as The Mayday Rooms (London), The Commonweal Peace Museum (Bradford), The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and Education Trust (Manchester), and our very good friends The Kate Sharpley Library (US and UK), as well as other people interested in getting involved or even starting up their own project. We just got back from Bradford with serious library space envy, and it was wonderful to see everyone. We discussed issues like accessing funding, improving our spaces and services, mentoring new projects and cataloguing. We were especially chuffed by all the complements about our Digital Archive. In the immediate term, the Network is setting up an email list and newsletter. Watch this space for how to join, and also for news about the planned NORLA website and our appearances at Radical Bookfairs.
Jan 26 Document of the Month
This month’s document is a no-brainer after we were inspired in Bradford. We have rushed a wonderful new publication called In Your Own Time to the top of our digitising pile. Subtitled Artist as Witness to Mutual Aid Disguised as Social Care, it is inspired by Sean Roy Parker’s time spent at the Erith Food Bank (Kent). This is a timely, biting critique of how we have come to need such charitable structures and what they can be good, and bad for. It was supported by Roy’s research into the Anarchist tradition of Mutual Aid carried out at libraries and archives including those above. The work is hand printed in a limited run (ours in no. 78 of 100) and anti-copyright, so we offer it here. Roy has even written a poem dedicated to our type of work (see pp. 21- 26).
Finally…
Our warmest greetings to the organisation which inspired us to set up the Sparrows’ Nest all those years ago, the Infoshop in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Set within the famous Metelkova Autonomous Cultural Centre, it is 20 years old this year! Providing a friendly and dynamic space for the research and development of the theory and practice of anarchism and related social movements, it is open on Wednesday and Friday evenings as well as for events such as film evenings, dinners, workshops, discussions, book clubs and gigs. So don’t visit Slovenia without giving it a visit! We can assure you a friendly welcome at [A] Infoshop, Metelkova 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana.
We are completely self-funded, so please donate if you can.
Bank name: Unity Trust Bank
Recipient: The Sparrows Nest Library and Archive
Sort code: 60-83-01
Account: 20379287