@article{jlsc 12738, author = {Stuart Lawson, Kevin Sanders, Lauren Smith}, title = {Commodification of the Information Profession: A Critique of Higher Education Under Neoliberalism}, volume = {3}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.iastatedigitalpress.com/jlsc/article/id/12738/}, issue = {1}, doi = {10.7710/2162-3309.1182}, abstract = {The structures that govern society’s understanding of information have been reorganised under a neoliberal worldview to allow information to appear and function as a commodity. This has implications for the professional ethics of library and information labour, and the need for critical reflexivity in library and information praxes is not being met. A lack of theoretical understanding of these issues means that the political interests governing decision-making are going unchallenged, for example the UK government’s specific framing of open access to research. We argue that building stronger, community oriented praxes of critical depth can serve as a resilient challenge to the neoliberal politics of the current higher education system in the UK and beyond. Critical information literacy offers a proactive, reflexive and hopeful strategy to challenge hegemonic assumptions about information as a commodity.}, month = {3}, pages = {eP1182}, issn = {2162-3309}, publisher={Iowa State University Digital Press}, journal = {Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication} }