Developed by Cataloging and Metadata Common Knowledge Group (CMCKG)

Adapted from UC Davis and UC San Diego

For questions, contact Adam Baron

Objective and Scope

The goal is to enhance the discoverability of resources by adding terms from the Homosaurus, an international linked data vocabulary of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) terms, as a complementary vocabulary to LCSH.

This project focuses on bibliographic records that include the Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) “Sexual minorities” or related terms. Additional projects related to a specific LGBTQ+ community can be proposed by emailing the chair of CMCKG so the work can be coordinated across the system.

Training

The following Homosaurus training from the Orbis Cascade Alliance is strongly recommended before starting this project:

• Session 1 (5/31/2023): Primer on LGBTQ+ identities and intersectionalities

  • Captioned video

  • Uncaptioned video

• Session 2 (6/7/2023): Homosaurus scope, structure, and policies, plus performing subject analysis using Homosaurus

  • Captioned video

  • Uncaptioned video

• Session 3 (6/14/2023): Creating and maintaining sustainable Homosaurus projects

  • Captioned video

  • Uncaptioned video

• Slide deck covering all sessions (PPTX)

This three-part workshop is for catalogers and other metadata professionals who have an interest in using the Homosaurus vocabulary at their institutions. Adrian Williams (they/them) orients audience members on Homosaurus’ policies and implementation best practices, as well as on how catalogers and metadata professionals can perform subject analysis for LGBTQ+ culture, context, and history. They also train audience members on using Homosaurus in the bibliographic record.

This workshop is the result of a joint initiative of the Orbis Cascade Alliance’s Unique Materials in the SILS Standing Group (UMSILS) and the Cataloging Standing Group (CSG).

Workflow

Guidance from Homosaurus training cautions against batch work; however, some preparatory work can involve batch work, such as batch searching and preparing spreadsheets for review.

Create spreadsheet

The following basic process was used to create the Sexual minorities-To Add Homosaurus spreadsheet of Network Zone (NZ) records containing the LCSH terms “sexual minorities” or “sexual minority” where Homosaurus terms may need to be added.

1. In Alma, search All titles in the Network using the following criteria:
   
   

   Open

   

2. Export the list to Excel to obtain a list of MMS IDs.

3. In MarcEdit, use Z39.50 to batch search the MMS IDs in the NZ.

4. Extract MARC records that do not already have a Homosaurus term.

5. Export Tab Delimited Records to create a spreadsheet that contains MARC 001, 035$a, 245, 505, 520, 650, 655, 852.

Review spreadsheet

1. Review items held by your institution in the Sexual minorities-To Add Homosaurus spreadsheet to determine if Homosaurus terms should be added.

   1. Consider updating the Status, Institution, and Date columns to indicate the records your institution plans to work on updating.

2. Add Homosaurus terms to the WorldCat record as appropriate, following the guidelines below. Replace the record and export the updated record to Alma.

3. In the Sexual minorities-To Add Homosaurus spreadsheet, update the following columns:

   1. Status: Done

   2. Institution

   3. Date

   4. Homosaurus Terms Added

   5. Notes

Application Guidelines

In addition to the following application guidelines, consider reviewing Best Practices for Queer Metadata, particularly section 4.2. Subject Headings.

1. Update both subject headings and classification, where needed.

2. For the retrospective application of Homosaurus terms, rely on the existing description (e.g., contents, summary, etc.) and subject headings in the MARC record to determine which Homosaurus terms to apply. Pull materials only when necessary.

3. Resist the urge to recatalog materials; instead, concentrate on enhancing discoverability by adding Homosaurus terms.

4. Add Homosaurus terms only when they do not duplicate terms from the LCSH vocabulary.

5. Do not delete an equivalent LCSH term, even if the LCSH term is problematic.

6. Be as specific as possible to allow members of marginalized subcommunities to locate relevant resources.

7. When uncertain about whether to include broader or related terms, include as many as deemed necessary based on cataloger’s judgment.

8. Add Homosaurus terms only for topics that comprise at least 20% of the work.

9. Use terms that the creator or people represented in the work use to self-identify themselves.

10. When a work contains prejudicial language or a non-queer bias, consider adding the genre/form term “Prejudicial works” or a narrower term from the RBMS Controlled Vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloging (RBMS CVRMC). Also consider adding the subject term “Slurs” from Homosaurus if appropriate.

11. When a work contains offensive language, consider adding a harmful language note (e.g., 520 4# $a Author uses homophobic slurs throughout text.).

12. Do not include subdivisions from other vocabularies. If you wish to be more specific in your description, consider faceted terms from alternative vocabularies, such as FAST.

Adding Homosaurus Terms in MARC Bib Records

Homosaurus terms are entered into the 650 (for subjects) and 655 (for genre/form terms) fields. While Homosaurus does not have terms that are exclusively defined as genre/form terms, there are several media-related terms that can be used in both a subject and genre/form capacity.

Homosaurus terms use the second indicator 7 and the source code in subfield $2 homoit (which stands for Homosaurus International Thesaurus). Following MARC format guidelines, both the 650 and 655 subfield $2 are preceded by a mark of punctuation (typically a period) or a closing parenthesis. Always include the URI in subfield $0.

The format for each field should be:

650 #7 $a [Vocabulary term]. $2 homoit $0 Term’s URI

655 #7 $a [Vocabulary term]. $2 homoit $0 Term’s URI

Example: 650 #7 $a LGBTQ+ people. $2 homoit $0 https://homosaurus.org/v3/homoit0000915

Example: 650 #7 $a Boys' love (Genre) $2 homoit $0 https://homosaurus.org/v3/homoit0002152

Example: 655 #7 $a LGBTQ+ home movies. $2 homoit $0 https://homosaurus.org/v3/homoit0001982

Examples

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Resources

• Homosaurus: An International LGBTQ+ Linked Data Vocabulary

  • Documentation and Implementation Guide

• Orbis Cascade Alliance. Homosaurus Training Resources and FAQ

• Queer Metadata Collective. Best Practices for Queer Metadata

• Trans Metadata Collective. Metadata Best Practices for Trans and Gender Diverse Resources