Barricade Books
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Barricade Books / Infoshop is an anarchist infoshop in Melbourne, Australia.
Contents |
[edit] Philosophy
The basic aim of the collective that manages Barricade is to provide greater public access to anarchist ideas, and thereby encourage local anarchist activism. For the purposes of the Barricade collective, an anarchist is someone who believes that an anarchist society—a classless, non-hierarchical society—is both possible and desirable, and who actively works towards making this belief a reality.
Barricade Books is an unpaid, volunteer collective which neither receives nor accepts funding from government or state institutions.
[edit] Services
Barricade Books / Infoshop sells a range of anarchist and radical badges, books, comics, CDs, pamphlets, patches, posters, stickers, T-shirts and zines. We organise meetings and public discussions, screen videos, and host an extensive anarchist and activist resource library.
As an information resource centre, Barricade is a place where interested people can go to chat, debate, read, meet, and (hopefully) learn. Being collectively run, Barricade is not only one modest but practical example of how anarchist principles can be used to organise communities and workplaces, but also a dynamic and evolving creation of those who form its membership. Zine archive, distribution point for free publications, meeting room, concert venue, free school, mail drop for activist groups, bookshop, kitchen, library: an infoshop can be each of these things and more.
[edit] History
Barricade opened its doors for the first time at 115 Sydney Road, Brunswick on February 4, 1995. Our opening didn’t go unnoticed, as just five months later, on July 3, police raided the premises (with an unsigned warrant). Three items of stock were confiscated: a pamphlet (Left Libertarianism’s Lavender Lineage) and two t-shirts, one with the word “fuck” on it, the other with a picture of a penis. A worker was charged with selling ‘obscene’ materials.
In a further act of harassment against the infoshop, neo-Nazis smashed the shop’s windows on July 11. For over twelve months, the infoshop looked like a real live barricade, as temporary iron sheets were placed over the front windows. Still, the infoshop continued to function. And after a long but eventually successful battle with the local council, the shop was fitted with bullet proof plexi-glass.
[edit] Contact
Opening hours: Monday, Friday and Saturday, 2-6pm.
The Barricade collective meets every fortnight. If you’re a local anarchist and you’d like to get involved, please email us at the address below with your details.
- Postal address: PO Box 199, East Brunswick, VIC, 3057, AUSTRALIA.
- website under construction.
- Myspace
