John Pateman  

Biography - John Pateman has worked in public libraries for 28 years in six local authorities. He has been Head of Libraries in Hackney, Merton and Lincolnshire. He is particularly interested in social exclusion, internationalism and libraries as an agent of social change. He was a founding member of The Network- tackling social exclusion in libraries, museums, archives and galleries. He was a founding member of the Quality Leaders Programme for Black Library Workers. He was a founder of Information for Social Change and is part of its editorial collective; he was also the founder of the Cuban Libraries Solidarity Group. He is International Officer for the Lincolnshire branch of UNISON and he is secretary of the Lincolnshire Cuba Solidarity Campaign. He is a Fellow of CILIP and of the Institute of Public Sector Management. He has been an active member of the Branch and Mobile Libraries Group, the International Group, the Diversity Group and LINK: a network for North-South library development.

John was Head of Libraries in Merton when it won the Libraries Change Lives Award (2001) for services to asylum seekers and refugees. In 2002 he received the National Culture Award from the Cuban government for his services to Cuban libraries. He was Head of Libraries in Lincolnshire when it won the CILIP Diversity Award for Organisational Change (2005) and the CLIP/LiS Libraries Change Lives Award for services to guest workers (2006).

In June 2003 John shared a platform with Fidel Castro at the International Congress of Culture and Development in Havana. In December 2004 he attended the World Gathering of Intellectuals and Artists in Defence of Humanity which was held in Caracas, Venezuela. In May 2005 he gave two key note addresses at the Vancouver Public Library staff conference: Developing a Needs Based Library Service; and Public Libraries and Social Exclusion. In September 2005 he presented a paper at the Public Libraries and Social Exclusion conference in Medellin, Colombia. . In June 2006 he attended the Canadian Library Association conference in Ottowa and presented a paper on the Systemic Barriers to Library Use: Libraries Engage the Socially Excluded.

John has written many articles on aspects of social exclusion – especially social class – community development, internationalism and libraries in Cuba. He was a member of the government working group which produced Libraries for all: social inclusion in public libraries (1999) and of the research team which produced Open to All? The Public Library and Social Exclusion (2000). He was a member of the CILIP Policy Action Group on Social Exclusion which produced Making a Difference - Innovation and Diversity (2002). He has written a publication on Developing a Needs Based Library Service (2003) as part of the NIACE Lifelines in adult learning series. In 2006 he co-authored with John Vincent two chapters in the British Librarianship and Information Work series: ‘From Equal Opportunities to Social Exclusion' (1991-2000) and ‘From Social Inclusion to Community Cohesion' (2001-2005).

Abstract - Libraries and the War on Terror: censorship and diversity

The context of my talk will be the ilegal invasion of Iraq and how this has affected freedom of information and freedom of
expression in the UK and the US with particular reference to:

- clause 28 and homophobia
- the tablod press
- self censorship
- publisher censorship
- internet censorship
- professional censorship
- stock policy
- banned authors
- hate websites
- the anti terrorism bill
- islamaphobia
- the PATRIOT Act