Table of Contents
Advancing the Relationship between Critical Cataloging and Critical Race Theory / Karen Snow, Anthony W. Dunbar
in Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. Vol. 60, issue 6-7 (2022)
PAYWALL
Critical race theory (CRT) is a framework that evolved from critical legal studies of the 1970s but has only recently been the target of intense scrutiny in education and politics. This article aims to describe CRT and how it can frame issues within cataloging and classification standards and practice. CRT tenets permanence of racism, whiteness as property, the critique of liberalism, intersectionality, counter-storytelling, and interest convergence are explored in the context of cataloging and classification work. Concepts of “authority” and “justice” are also examined. CRT can provide valuable evidence for critical cataloging efforts to make cataloging more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
A related presentation was given at the ALA Core Cataloging & Classification Research Interest Group, March 2023.
Recording (Begins at 45:30)
Anti-Racism Subject Headings / Northwestern University
September 6, 2022
GitHub repository documentation for identifying additional subject headings in Alma catalog records using the LC subject heading “Anti-racism.” This list was then used to search Gobi for new books.
Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia: Anti-Racist Description Resources / Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia’s Anti-Racist Description Working Group
October 2019
Metadata recommendations for archival professionals to address racist and anti-Black archival description. The recommendations are intended to combat the racist structures inherent in predominately-White institutions and in archival description of underrepresented and marginalized groups, in particular those in the Black community.
Challenging legacies at the British Library / Alan Danskin
in Art Libraries Journal. Vol. 48, issue 2 (April 2023)
The British Library established a corporate Anti-Racism Project (2020) designed to encourage participation via six subgroups, with staff recommendations incorporated into “Enacting Change”, the Library's Race Equality Action Plan (2022). The research and recommendations of the Cataloguing and Metadata subgroup fed into a pilot project proposed as a proof of concept to develop end-to-end workflows, focused on the South Asian Collection and the Caribbean Collection. Work has already been done to align ethical approaches to cataloguing with the Library's values. During the pilot project, new training modules for an ethical approach to metadata are being developed. The outcome will be to remove barriers to access and embed sustainable best practices. OPEN ACCESS
DARE to say NO: Addressing Outdated and Offensive Classification / J.J. Compton and Anona Earls
July 14, 2022
Outlines a project to reclass offensive and dated terminology of call numbers for materials classified with N and O Cutter numbers for “Negro” and “Oriental.” The project workflow was structured as “DARE” – Decide (to undertake the project), Access (change the metadata), Repair (the label, record, shelving location, etc.), and Eliminate (weed).
From “Riot” to “Massacre” – LC Subject Headings and Metadata Justice / Karen Antell and Jay Shorten
Dec. 1, 2021
This presentation gives an overview with examples of metadata injustice in LCSH and the success University of Oklahoma librarians had in convincing LC that “Tulsa Race Massacre” is the commonly used phrase, resulting in an update to the LCSH “Tulsa Race Riot, Tulsa, Okla., 1921” to “Tulsa Race Massacre, Tulsa, Okla., 1921.” Presented at the Ex Libris Users of North America: ELUNA Learns - DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and the University of Central Oklahoma’s Metadata Justice in Oklahoma Libraries & Archives Symposium.