Abolition in Special Collections

disrupting our involvement with policing, armed response, surveillance, and the prison industrial complex 

About the group

The Abolition in Special Collections (AbSC) group is a collective of library workers in archives and special collections interested in disrupting our involvement with policing, armed response, surveillance, and the prison industrial complex. The group seeks to catalyze a cultural shift and to interrogate legacy practices and attitudes that perpetuate oppression. 

We are a subgroup of the Abolitionist Library Association and meet on a monthly basis. If you'd like to join the conversation and join our meetings, sign up for the group’s mailing list, visit https://lists.riseup.net/www/subscribe/abolition-in-special-collections 

Illustration of a fist rising from the sea, with SELF-DETERMINATION written above

Art by Aaron Hughes, DE-MIL-I-TA-RISE Dissenters Portfolio

Read the values that guide our work.

Abstract image of lines and dots

Read the results of our survey on security and policing in libraries 

Current Work

AbSC is currently working on projects to:

Questions?

For more information, contact ablaspeccoll@gmail.com