Infoshop
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+ {{Infoshops}}
{{otheruses4|anarchist social centers|the anarchist website of the same name|Infoshop.org}}
[[Image:Left Bank Books Seattle.jpg|thumb|Interior of [http://www.leftbankbooks.com/store/ 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. Infoshops often serve as a meeting space and resource hub for local [[activist]] groups.
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." <ref>[http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/7423/infoshop.html Street Libraries: Infoshops and Alternative Reading Rooms]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.practicalanarchy.org/infoshops.html Maximumrocknroll article on infoshops]</ref>
In June of 2006, the '''Infoshop Network''', a network spanning Canada and the United States, was formed at the Infoshop Gathering in [[Baltimore, Maryland]].<ref>[http://infoshopnetwork.org/ The Infoshop Network]</ref>
==Other uses of the term==
[[Image:L'Insoumise Montreal.jpg|thumb|[[Documentations, Informations, Références et Archives|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". 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." <ref>[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PUBLICATION/INFOSHOP1/0,,menuPK:223667~pagePK:162117~piPK:223668~theSitePK:225714,00.html The InfoShop at worldbank.org]</ref>
==Noteworthy infoshops==
* [[Barricade Books]], [[Melbourne]], [[Australia]]
* [[Bluestockings (bookstore)|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]] [http://www.internationalistbooks.org/]
* [[Iron Rail Book Collective]], [[New Orleans]] [http://www.ironrail.org/]
* [[Jura Books]], [[Sydney]] [[Australia]]
* [[Lucy Parsons Center]], [[Boston, Massachusetts]]
* [[The Old Market Autonomous Zone]], [[Winnipeg]], [[Canada]] [http://a-zone.org/]
* [[Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse]], [[Baltimore, Maryland]]
* [[Wooden Shoe Books]], [[Philadelphia]] [http://www.woodenshoebooks.com/]
==See also==
* [[Infoshop.org]]
==References==
[[Image:Lucy Parsons Center.JPG|thumb|[[Boston, Massachusetts]]' [[Lucy Parsons Center]].]]
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/7423/infoshop.html Street Libraries: Infoshops and Alternative Reading Rooms]
* [http://www.infoshopnetwork.org The Infoshop Network] (US & Canada)
* [http://ayp.subvert.info/category.php?category=Infoshop+%2F+Bookstore Comprehensive list of infoshops worldwide], via the [[Anarchist Yellow Pages]].
* [http://infokiosques.net/ French speaking Infoshops]
* [http://www.livingroomdocumentary.org/ The Living Room documentary, a film about infoshop culture]
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{{Infoshops}}
[[Category:Anarchist movements]]
[[Category:DIY culture]]
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