As you might expect, the Anarchist Archive contains more than a few documents that offer helpful information on civil disobedience and more. Scanning materials from the various anarchist collections has been an interesting process as I find I have a wide range in my personal reaction to the contents. Each new collection brings with it a slightly different focus but I have started to see the connections between various groups and offshoots and those who collaborated and coordinated efforts.
While some of the information and opinions printed in these materials is controversial, I stand behind the authors’ rights to have write, publish, and distribute the materials. I am very happy that Alan Antliff and the UVic Libraries have made this material available to scholars and the public at large, even if not everyone agrees with the sentiments expressed.
I find it fascinating that, unlike the very old materials I have brought into the digital realm, these collections are from the recent past — certainly within my lifetime — and yet are just as far off the map to those who cannot access the original material. A number of the pamphlets, posters, and zines were printed in limited runs, or intended to be distributed and discarded; that they were collected and can now be documented is just as exciting to me as the publication of a 300 year old rare text.