Empowerment and social protagonism in the librarian practices

Abstract

Access to collective goods such as education and culture made it possible over time to develop the autonomy of the subjects and this became a fundamental element for the construction of the notion of empowerment. The conquest of this autonomy was only possible when individuals became protagonists of their stories, when they came to perceive the weight of their influence in collective decisions and the importance of leaving the state of passivity to seek their rights. The empowerment of individuals with their individual and collective actions is an indispensable factor for the development of protagonists. The purpose of this study is to discuss the relevance of the librarian's empowerment to the formation of a protagonist profile that allows the users to develop their autonomy and interest in the achievement of their basic rights in society in order to achieve citizenship and democracy through active participation in decisions. As a methodological procedure, a review of the literature was done with reference to databases and the use of classical and contemporary authors. The results of this review indicate that the principle of empowerment is to be active rather than just advocacy. It involves a process of awareness that enables the passage from a state of passivity to a critical consciousness. The process of empowerment is an indispensable element for the achievement of social protagonism and we insert in this context the role of the librarian as the protagonist of his space and mediator of information. We conclude that becoming a protagonist involves mediation actions, the prioritization of collective interests and being representative of social demands and interests. The leading librarian is aware of the importance of enabling access to information for society, helping its members to exercise citizenship and become protagonists in their own.