56a Infoshop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
56a Infoshop
56a infoshop (2705105970).jpg
Infoshop sign
CountryUnited Kingdom
TypeSocial Centre and Archive
Established1991 (31 years ago) (1991)
LocationCrampton Street
London, SE17
Coordinates51°29′26.5″N 0°06′00.3″W / 51.490694°N 0.100083°W / 51.490694; -0.100083Coordinates: 51°29′26.5″N 0°06′00.3″W / 51.490694°N 0.100083°W / 51.490694; -0.100083
Branches1
Collection
Items collectedBooks, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and zines
Size50,000+ items (2021)[1]
Legal depositNo
Access and use
Access requirementsOpen to anyone with a need to use the collections and services
Website56a
Part of a series on
Socialism in
the United Kingdom
History
People
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • English socialists
  • N. Ireland socialists
  • Scottish socialists
  • Welsh socialists

Crown Dependencies

  • Manx socialists

British Overseas Territories

  • Gibraltarian socialists
Political groups and parties
(Current UK parties - Defunct UK parties)

Centre-left

  • Co-operative Party
  • Labour Party (UK)

Left-wing

Far-left

National political parties
England and Wales

Northern Ireland

Scotland

  • Scottish Labour
  • Scottish National Party
  • Scottish Socialist Party

Wales

  • Plaid Cymru
  • Welsh Labour

Regional political parties
Cornwall

  • Mebyon Kernow

Northern England

Yorkshire

  • Yorkshire Party

Political communities

  • Anarchist Federation (Britain)
  • Socialist Resistance

Scottish

  • Republican Communist Network
Trade unions
UK Trade unions
  • ICTU
  • STUC
  • TUC (Wales TUC)
Misc
Related topics
  • Hard left
  • Politics in the United Kingdom
  • Soft left
  • Red flag II.svg Socialism portal
  • Syndicalism.svg Organised labour portal
  • Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom portal
  • v
  • t

56a Infoshop is a self-managed social centre, archive, and shop based in Elephant and Castle, Southwark, London. Its collection centres around left and far-left materials including information on anarchism, anti-gentrification, to squatting.[2]

History[]

56a Infoshop was founded in 1991 initially as a squat and a self-managed social centre.[3] From here, it eventually had to accept an agreement in 2003[4] to pay a "peppercorn" rent by Southwark Council to remain functional within the area.[2][5]

Services[]

The infoshop offers mixed, volunteered services from selling books, book exchanges, free bike workshops, squatter workshops, free meeting spaces, and a open-access archival collection.[6]

Collection[]

56a Infoshop archive sign.

56a Infoshop's collection of over 50,000 items (2021) focuses on collecting left and far-left radicial and anarchical materials ranging from books, leaflets, magazines, maps, pamphlets posters, zines, and other print material.[7][8] Their collection mainly spans items from the 1980s up to the present day with an active focus on conserving ongoing, although they have materials touching on subjects as early as the 14th century.[9]

They have an ongoing digitisation effort through their online catalogue and take on scan-a-thons to preserve collection material. External partners including other archival spaces like MayDay rooms.[10] 56a Infoshop also operates the online resources Southwark Notes[3] that "is a campaigning group and research project concerned with the impact of the regeneration and gentrification of Southwark".[4]

Governance[]

The infoshop is run by volunteers, largely unfunded, and presents an informal, DIY archival and resource space.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "56a Infoshop – Radical Social Centre, Elephant & Castle – 56a Infoshop since 1991". 56a.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  2. ^ a b Burgum, Samuel (2020-09-11). "This City Is An Archive: Squatting History and Urban Authority". Journal of Urban History: 0096144220955165. doi:10.1177/0096144220955165. ISSN 0096-1442. S2CID 225222156.
  3. ^ a b Pell, Susan (2020), "Documenting the fight for the city: The impact of activist archives on anti-gentrification campaigns", Archives, Recordkeeping, and Social Justice, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9781315567846-9, ISBN 978-1-315-56784-6, S2CID 219402555, retrieved 2021-10-03
  4. ^ a b c Carter, Elena (2017-01-02). "'Setting the record straight': the creation and curation of archives by activist communities. A case study of activist responses to the regeneration of Elephant and Castle, South London". Archives and Records. 38 (1): 27–44. doi:10.1080/23257962.2016.1260532. ISSN 2325-7962. S2CID 157359853.
  5. ^ Dee, E.T.C. (2016-01-01). "Squatted Social Centers in London". Contention. 4 (1). doi:10.3167/cont.2016.040109. ISSN 2572-7184.
  6. ^ Gilliland, Anne; Flinn, Andrew. "Community Archives: what are we really talking about? Andrew Flinn Keynote". studylib.net. Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  7. ^ "56a Infoshop Archive". Community Archives and Heritage Group. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  8. ^ Firth, R. (2014-05-01). "Critical cartography as anarchist pedagogy? Ideas for praxis inspired by the 56a infoshop map archive". Interface : A Journal for and About Social Movements. 16 (1): 156–184.
  9. ^ "Archive – 56a Infoshop – Radical Social Centre, Elephant & Castle". 56a.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  10. ^ "MayDay Rooms » Past events". Retrieved 2021-10-02.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""