Books over Bloomberg

On April 9, 2013, the Occupy movement scored a victory when a settlement was reached in the case of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), "an unincorporated association," against the City of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and other city officials and individuals. The suit was filed because of the seizure and destruction of books, library furnishings, and equipment of the People's Library at Zucotti Park in New York City on November 15, 2011. Among other things, the settlement provides for the payment of $47,000 to the OWS Library Working Group and $185,000 in attorneys' fees for the plaintiffs. The full text of the settlement can be read online. Further information about the People's Library and its history can be found at its blog.

Kickstarting "Shell Game"

"Shell Game: An Art Show about the Financial Meltdown" is a Kickstarter project by artist Molly Crabapple. As she describes it:

Shell Game is an art show about the world financial collapse, and the people who have risen up in protest against it. I'll create nine giant paintings about the different parts of the collapse and the global movement fighting back (including Goldman Sachs, Greece, and Occupy Wall Street), but filter them through my lens of burlesque, surrealism, satire, and symbolic animals. Then, I'm going to rent a storefront in New York city, rig it out like a gambling parlor, and invite the city and the Internet to check it out for a week.

Crabapple's project has already elicited widespread support from over 600 funders, more than doubling its $30,000 goal well before deadline; pledges may be made at Kickstarter until March 27, 2012. The image shown here, entitled "The Great American Bubble Machine," is the first in a series of nine large (6' x 4') paintings planned for the project. Of related interest is the illustration Crabapple executed for The People's Library at Occupy Wall Street.

"Occupy" Voted Word of the Year by American Dialect Society

The American Dialect Society, during its annual conference on January 6, 2012, voted "occupy" as its Word of the Year for 2011. Founded in 1889, the organization is devoted to the study of the English language--and of other languages and dialects influencing English--in North America. It counts among its members "linguists, lexicographers, etymologists, grammarians, historians, researchers, writers, authors, editors, professors, university students, and independent scholars." Membership is open to anyone.

The Society began voting on Words of the Year in 1990, although it does not regard its selections as conferring any official status on lexical items. Rather it seeks to emphasize that language change is a normal, ongoing process; indeed, earlier winners such as "Y2K" and "chad" are examples of words that have fallen into relative disuse.

In addition to Word of the Year, additional categories are voted on; below are listed all the winners for 2011:

Word of the Year
occupy -- verb, noun, and combining form referring to the Occupy protest movement.

Most Useful
humblebrag -- expression of false humility, especially by celebrities on Twitter.

Most Creative
Mellencamp -- a woman who has aged out of being a “cougar” (after John Cougar Mellencamp).

Most Unnecessary
bi-winning -- term used by Charlie Sheen to describe himself pridefully, dismissing accusations of being bipolar.

Most Outrageous
assholocracy -- rule by obnoxious multi-millionaires.

Most Euphemistic
job creator -- a member of the top one-percent of moneymakers.

Most Likely to Succeed
cloud -- online space for the large-scale processing and storage of data.

Least Likely to Succeed
brony -- adult male fan of the “My Little Pony” cartoon franchise.

Occupy Words (new category)
the 99%, 99 percenters -- those held to be at a financial or political disadvantage to the top moneymakers, the one-percenters.

In commenting on this year's Word of the Year, Ben Zimmer, chair of the Society's New Words Committee, observed: “It’s a very old word, but over the course of just a few months it took on another life and moved in new and unexpected directions, thanks to a national and global movement. The movement itself was powered by the word.”

Visit the American Dialect Society's website to learn more about this year's contest and past winners. In a related vote, the American Name Society chose "Arab Spring" as its Name of the Year for 2011.

Note: The pervasiveness of "Occupy" is evidenced even by its presence as part of Bill Griffith's Zippy cartoon for January 8, 2012.

The Iowa Caucuses

Occupy Iowa Caucus has committed to "Uncommitted" for both the Republican & Democratic slates at the Iowa caucuses to be held on January 3, 2012. To learn more, visit the OIC website.

Occupy 2012: Social Justice

Screen-printed design by the Common Curator, 2011.

Kickstarting "Take This Book: The People's Library at Occupy Wall Street"

"Take This Book: The People's Library at Occupy Wall Street" is a Kickstarter project to document the eventful history of the library, which evolved quickly in the early days of the Occupy Wall Street movement in NYC (see earlier Common Curator posts: The Occupy Wall Street Library and The Destruction of the People's Library).

Author Melissa Gira Grant describes the project as follows:

This is one story of the People's Library at Occupy Wall Street, as told to me by many of the librarians behind it: how the library began, what happened after the November 15 raid on Zuccotti Park, and why they're rebuilding. It's a story about books, danger, and freedom.

Take This Book is an extended essay -- just over 10,000 words -- based on the stories of the librarians and the library's patrons. (Maybe you were one of them.) It can't be the whole story, because it's still happening.

If successful in reaching her fundraising goal, Grant intends to publish both an ebook and print version of her essay. For further details, or to contribute, visit the Kickstarter website.

Note: The poster shown here was designed by the artist Molly Crabapple, and is being offered as a premium for supporters of the project.

Destruction of The People's Library

The eviction of Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park in the early morning hours of November 15, 2011 resulted in the destruction and loss of several thousand books as well as irreparable damage to computers, equipment, and personal property that constituted the Occupy Wall Street Library, or People's Library, as it is also known. The video above documents a press conference held on November 23 in response to the destruction and aftermath. Further information about rebuilding efforts and current initiatives by the People's Library can be found at the OWS Library web site.

Occupy Chapel Hill

The Occupy Wall Street movement arrived in Chapel Hill in mid-October, and quickly a small encampment was established at the Peace and Justice Plaza in front of the Chapel Hill Post Office and Court House. Updates on recent activities can be found at the Occupy Chapel Hill and Occupy Together web sites.

From Wall Street to Franklin Street

The Occupy Wall Street movement has arrived in Chapel Hill, and will be holding its inaugural event at the Peace and Justice Plaza in front of the Chapel Hill Post Office at 10:30am, October 15, 2011. Further information can be found at the Occupy Chapel Hill web site.

The Occupy Wall Street Library

Established by Betsy Fagin (according to a recent account in The New Yorker blog, The Book Bench), The Occupy Wall Street Library is still going strong, and now has a blog of its own. As might be expected, the library has flexible lending rules, leaving it up to borrowers' discretion whether to keep a given book, return it, or trade for it. Street librarians are currently creating a catalog of books in the library, and are soliciting donations of books and supplies as well as additional volunteer support.

More information about the Occupy Wall Street movement itself can be found at the NYC General Assembly web site, which also provides the text of the movement's manifesto, or Declaration of the Occupation of New York City. In addition, the progressive news aggregator, Common Dreams, has created a news portal for the Occupy movement around the U.S.

Note: The photo above was obtained from the Occupy Wall Street Library blog. Of related interest, the Common Curator in August profiled Street Books, a mobile library for the homeless.