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56a Infoshop

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56a Infoshop
Infoshop sign
51°29′26.5″N 0°06′00.3″W / 51.490694°N 0.100083°W / 51.490694; -0.100083
LocationCrampton Street
London, SE17, United Kingdom
TypeSocial Centre and Archive
Established1991 (35 years ago) (1991)
Branches1
Collection
Items collected
Books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and zines
Size50,000+ items (2021)[1]
No
Access and use
Access requirements
Open to anyone with a need to use the collections and services
Other information
Website56a

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

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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

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

Collection

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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] The collection mainly spans items from the 1980s up to the present day.[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

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

References

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  1. ↑ "56a Infoshop – Radical Social Centre, Elephant & Castle – 56a Infoshop since 1991". 56a.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 Burgum, Samuel (11 September 2020). "This City Is An Archive: Squatting History and Urban Authority". Journal of Urban History. 48 (3): 504–522. doi:10.1177/0096144220955165. ISSN 0096-1442. S2CID 225222156.
  3. 1 2 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 3 October 2021
  4. 1 2 3 Carter, Elena (2 January 2017). "'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. (1 January 2016). "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 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "56a Infoshop Archive". Community Archives and Heritage Group. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  8. ↑ Firth, R. (1 May 2014). "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. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "MayDay Rooms » Past events". Retrieved 2 October 2021.
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