Interior of Left Bank Books, Seattle, Washington in 2006.

An infoshop is a storefront or social center that serves as a node for the distribution of anarchist information, typically in the form of books, zines, stickers and posters. Social Centers are Community spaces They are buildings which are used for a range of disparate activities which can be linked only by virtue of being Not-for-profit Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i A zine (an abbreviation of the word Fanzine, or magazine ziːn "zeen" is most commonly a small circulation non-commercial Publication Infoshops often serve as a meeting space and resource hub for local activist groups. Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change

Infoshops are particularly prevalent in Western Europe and North America, but can be found around the world. According to an Utne Reader article, author Chris Atton describes British infoshops as having grown "out of the squatted anarchist centres of the 1980s, such as the 121 Centre in Brixton, London. Utne Reader is an American bimonthly Magazine. The cover logo was changed to simply Utne in 2003-06 " ^[1] Another big influence was the regular European-wide International Infoshop Meetings of the 1990s.

Writing in Maximum RocknRoll, anarchist librarian Chuck Munson places North American infoshops in the lineage of Vietnam War era peace and justice centers. Chuck Munson (born 1965 is an American Anarchist and a Weblog, "another blog is possible The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ^[2]

In June of 2006, the Infoshop Network, a network spanning Canada and the United States, was formed at the Infoshop Gathering in Baltimore, Maryland. ^[3]

Other uses of the term

DIRA/L'Insoumise, Montreal's anarchist infoshop/bookstore, boulevard St Laurent, March 2007

Ironically, the World Bank, an institution whose meetings have been targeted by leftist and anarchist demonstrators, also operates a bookstore called "The InfoShop". Documentations Informations Références et Archives ( Documents Information References and Archives) or DIRA, is an Infoshop in downtown Documentations Informations Références et Archives ( Documents Information References and Archives) or DIRA, is an Infoshop in downtown The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i The World Bank describes its Washington DC based store as "a one-stop shop for economic development literature and for information on World Bank project activities. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D " ^[4]

Noteworthy infoshops

• Barricade Books, Melbourne, Australia
• Bluestockings, New York City
• Brian MacKenzie Infoshop, Washington, DC
• Camas Infoshop, Victoria, BC
• Catalyst Infoshop, Prescott, Arizona
• Documentations, Informations, Références et Archives (DIRA), Montreal, Quebec
• Freedom Shop, Wellington New Zealand
• Internationalist Books, Chapel Hill, North Carolina [1]
• Iron Rail Book Collective, New Orleans [2]
• Jura Books, Sydney Australia
• Lucy Parsons Center, Boston, Massachusetts
• The Old Market Autonomous Zone, Winnipeg, Canada [3]
• Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, Baltimore, Maryland
• Wooden Shoe Books, Philadelphia [4]

See also

• Infoshop.org

References

Boston, Massachusetts' Lucy Parsons Center. Barricade Books is a New York NY publishing house specializing in non-fiction books Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Bluestockings is an Infoshop ( Activist bookstore and Café) in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The City of New York The Brian MacKenzie Infoshop is a radical book and record shop located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington D Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Victoria (vɪkˈtɔɹiə is the capital city of British Columbia. The Catalyst Infoshop is a volunteer-run bookstore and activist center located in Prescott Arizona. Prescott ( Yavapai: Wiikwasa Kasikita) is a City in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. Documentations Informations Références et Archives ( Documents Information References and Archives) or DIRA, is an Infoshop in downtown Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec The Freedom Shop is the name of a shop and Anarchist Collective for the distribution of books and information based in Wellington New Zealand Wellington (ˈwælɪŋtən is the Capital of New Zealand, the country's second largest urban area, the New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Internationalist Books and Community Center, located in Chapel Hill North Carolina, is a volunteer operated Infoshop, non-profit Collective, and Community Chapel Hill is a town in Durham and Orange counties in North Carolina and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC Iron Rail Book Collective is an Volunteer -run radical Library and bookstore in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Jura Books is an Anarchist bookshop and Infoshop located in Sydney, Australia. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Lucy Parsons Center, located in the South End of Boston Massachusetts, is an all-volunteer nonprofit collective operating as both a radical independent bookstore The Old Market Autonomous Zone, or A-Zone was founded in 1995, in Winnipeg, Canada by local activists Paul Burrows and Sandra Drosdowech Winnipeg (ˈwɪnɨpɛg is the capital and largest city in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and 7th largest municipality in Canada with a population Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse is a radical Infoshop located in Baltimore Maryland, USA and run by a worker-owner Collective. Wooden Shoe Books & Records is an Infoshop run on the principles of Consensus decision-making by an all- Volunteer anarchist Collective Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə Infoshoporg is an Anarchist website founded in January 1995 as the Mid-Atlantic Infoshop by Chuck Munson. The Lucy Parsons Center, located in the South End of Boston Massachusetts, is an all-volunteer nonprofit collective operating as both a radical independent bookstore

External links

• Street Libraries: Infoshops and Alternative Reading Rooms
• The Infoshop Network (US & Canada)
• Comprehensive list of infoshops worldwide, via the Anarchist Yellow Pages.
• French speaking Infoshops
• The Living Room documentary, a film about infoshop culture