Critcatenate is an effort to keep folks up to date on #critcat efforts with a monthly roundup of news. #critcat is short for critical cataloging, focusing on the ethical implications of library metadata, cataloging, and classification standards, practice, and infrastructure.
#critcat in September 2021:
- New article: “Re-questioning the Library from the Inside: American Society and the Future of Librarianship“by Akane Yoshiya (in Japanese). Perspectives on #critlib and #critcat from a Japanese perspective, featuring discussion of the revisions to the “Tulsa Race Riots” & “Japanese Americans–Evacuation and relocation” LCSH.
- New article: “Contextualizing Disability: A Century of Library of Congress Subject Headings” by Carolyn Sullivan, comparing the second edition (1919) & eighth edition (1975) of LCSH for headings concerning deafness and other disabilities.
- New article: “The Shortcomings of Bibliographic Description in Service of Indigenous Peoples in Canada” by Amelia Hunter, discussing the limitations of MARC fields & LCDGT in describing Indigenous resources.
- New article: “Mitigating Bias in Metadata: A Use Case Using Homosaurus Linked Data” by Juliet Hardesty and Allison Nolan in Information Technology and Libraries, demonstrating proof of concept testing of increasing access to LGBTQ materials using Homosaurus.
- Webinar from New York Public Library: “Doc Chat Episode 32: Identity, Anti-Bias Practices, and the Library Catalog” with Jelicia Jimenez, Paloma Celis Carbajal, and Bronwen Maxson. Recording should be available in October.
- Blog post from Chicago History Museum “Updating the Archival Descriptions of Enslavement Documents“: CHM collections intern Ella Trotter writes about the critical process of describing archival documents regarding enslaved people in the United States.
- I missed this back in February: “Spark a Conversation on Metadata Inclusiveness” by Sai Deng. Slideshow prepared for coworkers with overview of EDI in cataloging, good overview of multiple critcat topics with tools & bibliography.
- Changing the Subject at California’s Community College Libraries: follow-up to an April 2021 post (Changing Subjects: Two DEI Metadata Projects at CCC Libraries) on efforts to replace the “Illegal aliens” LCSH at 110 community colleges.
- Statement and roadmap from the University of Washington Libraries: “Words Matter: Critical Cataloging and Archival Description at the University of Washington Libraries“.
- Recording of “Dewey Really Need It” discussion on the Dewey Decimal Classification in Australia, including info on local revisions to the DDC and exploring alternatives.
- January 2021 CCQ article now available for free until February 2022: “Records, Responsibility, and Power: An Overview of Cataloging Ethics” by Jennifer M. Martin. The article outlines major issues in cataloging ethics through the last several decades.
- “Bias in the Library” 17-minute podcast episode discussing LCSH and Dewey. “On the Media producer Molly Schwartz spoke with Wayne A. Wiegand, a library historian and author of Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey, Caroline Saccucci, former Dewey Program Manager at the Library of Congress, Emily Drabinski interim chief librarian of the Mina Rees Library at CUNY, and Dartmouth librarian Jill Baron from the documentary Change the Subject.”
- Letter requests from Sandy Berman to LC to create subject headings for “Land back movement” and “Racial capitalism“.
- Call for proposals: special issue of CCQ on “Empowering Representations: Rethinking Surrogates from the Margins” edited by Lynne Howarth & Katharine Leigh, exploring how librarians should reconsider representations in cataloging. Proposals due October 31.
- Valuable Twitter thread by Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin starting with: “Equity in cataloguing and bibliographic data needs to go beyond the data itself. It’s not enough to focus on subject headings and description. We need to also take a hard look at the modes of delivery and the platforms that control access to sharing data.”
- Webinar from SAA: “DEI and Collections Metadata/DEI Audit” discussing “how to critically examine collecting practices for bias and gaps” and “strategies for identifying problematic language and descriptions in your collection data and outline possible steps for addressing them.”
- Short essay “Library Systems Are Not Perfect: Describing Transgender Children and Young People Using LCSH” by Niamh Quigley in the new Disorientation Guide to Librarianship zine.
Upcoming:
- Monday October 4: “Metadata and DEIA” webinar from the NISO Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee featuring Treshani Perera, Merrilee Proffitt, and Brian M. Watson.
- Minitex (Minnesota) Technical Services Symposium is happening online Tuesday November 9. The 2021 theme is “Good Trouble: Activism and Ethics in Technical Services”.
Please get in touch if I’ve missed anything relevant, I’d be happy to add it to next month’s report!