The library economy is a collectively organised system of several different commons which catalogues and provides access to a collection of goods and resources to all members of a society. It derives its namesake from the libraries we all know and love; venerable institutions that now act in many places to uphold the principles of inclusivity and accessibility and provide a space for learning and being for all. However, the library economy is not limited to the expectations and restrictions of present-day libraries. It is not simply a library with more than just books. It is not a single building or a straightforward lending system. It is the bridge to an entirely new world of human flourishing that merely begins with the familiar concept of the library.
In The Ecology of Freedom, social ecologist Murray Bookchin spends a lot of time exploring three key concepts: usufruct, the irreducible minimum, and complementarity.
These concepts are foundational to any cooperative, caring, and egalitarian society, but particularly to what Bookchin called ‘organic society,’ which consist of the egalitarian tribal societies that can be found in much of human history.
Beginning with the first essential concept for a library economy, usufruct refers to the freedom of individuals or groups in a community to access and use, but not destroy, common resources to supply their needs.
The second essential concept for a library economy is the irreducible minimum, which is the guaranteed provision of the means necessary to sustain life, the level of living that no one should ever fall below, regardless of the size of their individual contribution to the community.
Complementarity is a way of looking at non-hierarchical differences within a society as something generative, where each person contributes a small part to an outcome greater than the sum of its parts.
We Need A Library Economy – YouTube
A library economy would require a vast reorientation of our priorities from the centrality of capital and competition to the centrality of humanity and cooperation.
We Need A Library Economy – YouTube
…engage in building full-fledged library economies based on the commons.
This can take the form of tool libraries, vehicle libraries, clothing libraries, furniture libraries, and more in an effort curb overproduction, end planned obsolescence, and provide access to an irreducible minimum to all.
How We Can Change The World – YouTube
