Your workplace experiences
We have been conducting discussions with library workers across the greater Naarm area to review the experiences of being pro-Palestine in the LIS field. If you are interested in sharing your experiences with us, please contact us for further discussion.
Your Union
We have spoken to multiple library staff who have been instructed not to wear the keffiyeh in their workplace, incorrectly labelling the scarf as “political.”
The keffiyeh is a cultural garment. To ban staff from wearing a cultural garment such as the keffiyeh is an example of anti-Palestinian racism. For further support on this issue, please contact us and your Union.
Keffiyeh bans
Refuting the idea of “neutrality”
“True neutrality is only a helpful goal when all viewpoints share an equal amount of representation within our communities. Of course, this is not the case. Not all perspectives in our culture are granted equal representation, whether they should be or not. And as a result, remaining neutral is nearly equivalent to siding with whatever dominant ideology is present at the time. To truly support intellectual freedom, libraries cannot remain neutral, they must actively work to support the voices of the underrepresented [sic.] folks in their communities.”
- Libraries Should Take Sides: Breaking Down the Neutrality Myth 2020
Many staff we have spoken with have quoted their management and leadership teams saying that they are and will remain “neutral” on the destruction of Gaza. Furthermore, many have claimed that libraries themselves are “apolitical” and always “neutral.”
Library neutrality is a concept which is often debated and disputed, and public libraries in particular have fought the concept of neutrality regarding other issues such as LGBTQIA+ rights, drag storytimes, and some Naarm libraries even spoke out publicly regarding the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum.
Further information about disputing library neutrality can be found via the following resources:
Debating y/our humanity, or Are Libraries Neutral? 2018
Libraries and Rainbows: the importance of action, however small 2017
Libraries and the Contested Terrain of “Neutrality” 2022
Library Neutrality as a Radical Practice 2021
Once More for Those in the Back: Libraries Are Not Neutral 2022
“Though the concept of neutrality works to provide fair and equitable treatment to people of all social, economic, religious and philosophical variants, it also attempts to silence those who are working within the system from rocking the boat and creating radical change.”
PLANN volunteers are currently conducting a study into the number of Palestinian resources in greater Naarm public libraries to test the leadership hypothesis of “neutrality.”
Library and Cultural Institution Statements/Resolutions regarding Gaza
American Library Association (ALA) - Resolution on Damage and Destruction of Libraries and other Cultural Institutions 2024
Institute of Conservation (ICON) - Icon's Statement on the Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Gaza 2024
International Council of Museums (ICOM) - Statement concerning Israel and Palestine 2023
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) - Appeal for Respect for Human Rights, Cultural Conventions in Gaza and Israel 2023 and Monitoring Cultural Heritage Losses in Gaza 2024
Librarians and Archivists with Palestine - 2023 Statement on Gaza 2023
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - Gaza Strip: Damage assessment 2024