The Role of Libraries in Deneocoloniality: Toward Praxis-Oriented Research Directions
摘要
The library remains the most crucial institution in the infosphere that has the potential to succeed or fail society in this era that calls for deneocoloniality. Thus, the purpose of the present chapter is to provide a methodical examination of this phenomenon. Rather than focusing on armchairish librarianship and its colonial and neocolonial appendages, the chapter delves into the covert and overt forms of information/knowledge manipulation apropos to deneocoloniality. The concept of libraries belonging to the public is explored, demonstrating their role as vanguards for the deneocolonial struggle, as knowledge is a critical frontier for contestation in the age of information overload. A praxis-oriented approach to epistemic justice is sought in the chapter by examining the role of libraries in Africa in an age that requires deneocolization. In the context of global homogenization, the chapter discusses the convolution of extricating libraries from colonialism and neocolonialism. The chapter therefore accentuates the convolutions of deneocoloniality, and the need for library systems deeply rooted in the struggles of the African people in all aspects of life.