UC Campus Reparative and Inclusive Cataloging and Metadata Projects, Policies, and Practices

The following information was collected via a survey conducted by the Ethical & Inclusive Metadata Practices in UC Library Search Project Team that ran in April and May, 2023. These lists are not comprehensive but rather, represent what survey participants chose to report.

Change Racist Cutter Numbers / UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Library

This project involved changing two LC Cutter Numbers

• Change E184.O6 (“United States, Elements in the population, Oriental”) to E184.A75 (“United States, Elements in the population, Asian Americans”)

• Change .N4 (“Negroes”) to B53 (“Black”).

After the call numbers were changed in the catalog and bibliographic records, physical processing (printing spine labels, reshelving, and shifting stacks) proceeded.

The project was immensely successful. In the process of changing the aforementioned call numbers, more accurate subject headings were added to add granularity to the bibliographic records. For example, where "Asian Americans" was the de facto broad subject heading applied, it appears the works were actually about a segment of said population -- Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Filipino Americans, etc. This pattern extended to Hispanic Americans as well -- Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, etc., illustrating the diversity within diversity of cultures and communities within these United States.

Evaluating and Upgrading Archival Finding Aids to Include Male Creators' Wives / UC Los Angeles Clark Library

This was the project of an individual who noted that many archival collections are often described as being the papers of a man, though they often include papers and other materials produced by spouses and other family members.  

Thus far, titles of two collections have been changed to reflect the equal contributions to the archives of both spouses.  Also, the biographical/historical and scope/contents notes for 4 collection finding aids have been upgraded and changed to include biographical details and descriptions of collection content produced by the women associated with the collections.   In some cases, a substantial amount of research was required to gather biographical details of the women.

There are eight 20th century fine printing collections to be reassessed remaining.  The outcome of the project is more accurate information for researchers, a more accurate description of what the collections contain, and a more accurate view of the lives of the people involved.  For an example of an archival finding aid with upgraded description notes, see Landacre (Paul) Collection.

Pilot to Explore Alternatives to LCSH for Student-Created Zines Focused on Social Justice Topics / UC Santa Barbara

This project involved the creation of a new collection within the library focused on zines about social justice topics and zines created by students, beginning with about 75 titles.

The scope of the project is based on UCSB Library’s collection strengths in World Comics, Ethnic and Gender Studies, and Special Research Collections.  The new collection is to be curated with a social justice activism lens.  Specific topics that represent the scope of the collection are zine works:

• By members from ethnically and socially marginalized communities 

• By members of gender nonconforming and LGBTQI communities 

• By activists about activism, and history of social movements 

• By current UCSB students and community members  

The project had a cataloging-specific goal to provide an opportunity to review existing subject analysis guidelines and pilot LCSH alternatives in collaboration with project leads and the Special Collections and Unique Materials cataloger.  Due to the nature of zines and the personal and interdisciplinary scope of zine content, project leads worked with cataloging staff to identify key terms and relevant subjects that respect and honor the intent of the author/zinester. 

The project was successful in getting catalogers to see the importance of not always going with LCSH and learning some alternative ways to do that without breaking cataloging rules or removing “correct” terms from existing records.

Recataloging of Spanish-language Colonial Mexican manuscripts / UC Los Angeles Clark Library

A collection previously referred to as “The Mexican Manuscripts” was completely reprocessed by a library school student employee with bilingual fluency in Spanish and English. The reprocessing included the correction of the previous description for accuracy and ethical language, the creation of descriptive notes and metadata for an OAC finding aid, and the creation of access points for the native people described by the colonizers in the papers.

In-depth provenance research on the collection was performed resulting in the creation of a new uniform call number that aligns with the numerical call numbers for other collections. Also, a new title was created that accurately reflects the collection’s content and provenance.

With accurate and complete information about the material described in the collection, the project is considered a success.  The description which now centers both the native peoples described by the collection instead of just the Spanish colonizers writing the documents provides a more nuanced, accurate, and compassionate description for users.  The creation of an online finding aid makes the collection discoverable.  Additionally, through outreach, this collection at UCLA is now reconnected with a larger collection established by Mexican scholar Federico Gomez de Orozco, the original collector of this material. 

Removal of “Illegal aliens” Subject Headings in the Pre-SILS Catalog / UC San Diego

The harmful LCSH “Illegal aliens” was replaced with “Undocumented immigrants” in bibliographic record subject headings.  Other related terms (e.g., “Aliens”) were also replaced.  The project required creating local authority records and doing monthly checks to see that the undesired terms had not “snuck back in” through vendor record loads.

The respondent reported the project resulted in a “very happy public services staff.”  One reference librarian reported that when providing service to people who are undocumented immigrants, the hurt in their faces upon learning they had to search using the harmful term “Illegal aliens” was evident.  The project remained successful until migration to the SILS catalog when the revised subject headings were lost.  

Documentation in the form of a list of the changed terms and a MARC file of the local authority records can be shared upon request.

Reparative Archival Description Project / UC Santa Cruz Special Collections & Archives

This project was a two-year long effort to audit and revise the archival description in UCSC Library’s finding aids to identify, contextualize, and remediate language that is racist, oppressive, culturally insensitive, outdated, or coded in ways that harm or obscure marginalized people and communities.  The project consisted of the following steps:

1. Finding aid audit and white paper

2. Statement on harmful description

3. Finding aid revisions

The project resulted in expanded skills and knowledge of reparative and anti-oppressive archival description practice, updated finding aids, and a published statement contextualizing harmful language in archival description.  The Reparative Archival Description Project Assessment Report is available online.

Reparative Cataloging / UC Los Angeles Clark Library

As problematic language in either the description or subject headings is discovered, the Clark Library is revising the description or adding context when necessary.  For problematic subject headings, the library either chooses a different vocabulary or makes subject heading change proposals of the Library of Congress.

This ongoing project has resulted in the ability to change a heading quickly and address concerns of faculty members.  Project documentation is available.

Reparative Description / UC Riverside

This project involves the survey and review of metadata within the Special Collections and University Archives materials that primarily displays in finding aids (on OAC) and metadata for digitized materials. The main goal to date has been revision of legacy finding aids that included harmful, derogatory, and/or racist language and place names; providing contextual notes and revising language (when it can be identified that it was not put in place by a collection creator).  This is an ongoing and collaborative project between the metadata, digitization services, and special collections departments.

Review and Revision of Legacy Finding Aids and Digital Collections Metadata / UC San Diego

This ongoing project involves a review of metadata that displays in Special Collections and University Archives finding aids on the Online Archive of California as well as a review of metadata for digitized materials.   The work to revise finding aids is a collaboration between the metadata, digitization services, and special collections departments.  Work includes the revision of harmful, derogatory, and racist language and place names (when not put in place by a collection creator) and contextualizing harmful language that cannot be changed.

SACO Proposals to Remove the Pejorative Term “Lengua Indians” from LCSH / UC San Diego

A pejorative exonym in use as a LC Subject Heading was discovered upon cataloging the book, The Enxet Sur people of Paraguay.  The scope of a subject heading change proposal was increased upon discovering many related headings that also should be changed.  Proposals were submitted to LC in January 2023.  The outcome was pending at the time of the survey.  

The survey participant reported a high expectation of having LC request resubmission of the change proposal with proof that affected groups had been consulted and the proposed term aligned with the self-identification of the groups.  Challenges to providing additional information were listed as (1) no speakers of Guarani or the other indigenous languages, (2) no real hierarchical structure for the groups, making finding a group contact “nearly impossible,” and (3) the groups have no online presence so there is no way of contacting them.

The project was successful in that participants learned a lot about making SACO proposals.  The proposals are documented at Lengua LCSH Project.

Updating Racist Cutter Number (.Nx) / UC Berkeley

This project involved reclassifying and relabeling approximately 3500 items with obsolete .Nx Cutter numbers (for “Negroes”) with new .Bx Cutter numbers (for “Blacks”). The project consisted of the following steps:

1. Identifying affected items using an Alma Analytics query

2. Pull items with a canceled class number from the shelves

3. Update the canceled class number with the updated class number in the Alma holdings record

4. Verify that the new call number is not a duplicate

5. Print and apply a new spine label

6. Reshelve the items based on their new call number

7. Shift stacks as needed

• UCI Libraries Sensitivity Statement 

• UCLA Clark Library Statement on Cataloging

• UCLA Clark Library Mission Statement

• UCLA Ethical Description Commitment

• UCLA Ethical Description LibGuide

• UCSC Special Collections & Archives Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description

• UCSC Special Collections & Archives Statement Example for Digital Collection Contents

• UCSD Library Digital Collections Statement on Historical Context & Cultural Sensitivity in Collections

AAT - Art & Architecture Thesaurus, maintained by the Getty Institute

AIATSIS - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, publisher of LC approved thesauri for languages, place names, and subjects.

BNE - Biblioteca Nacional de España

Chicano Thesaurus - Created by UCB.  A link to the thesaurus (named thesauru.doc) can be found at the bottom of the page. 

DACS - Describing Archives: A Content Standard, from the Society of American Archivists

DOT - Dictionary of Occupational Titles

Homosaurus - Homosaurus: An International LGBTQ+ Linked Data Vocabulary

ISO-639 - Codes for the representation of names of languages.  Maintained by the ISO.

FAST - Faceted Application of Subject Terminology.  Maintained by OCLC.

IAMLMF - International Association of Music Libraries Musical Forms codes

MeSH - Medical Subject Headings from the National Library of Medicine

RBMS - Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), who maintain a controlled vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloging

TGM - Thesaurus for Graphic Materials, 

TGN - Thesaurus of Geographic Names, maintained by the Getty Institute

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

• Backstage Library Works vendor for the addition of Non-Latin scripts

• Google Lens

• Google Translate

• LEXILOGOS Online Dictionaries

• UCSC Library List of Reparative Description Style Guides and Community Thesauri