One Decolonizing Change to Subject Headings at UBC Library By Sarah Dupont on June 25, 2020 As we come to the end of Indigenous Peoples’ History Month, Technical Services Let your users know why you are limited to subject headings that may be harmful and that you recognize the issue this presents to the communities you serve. Further reading and resources: Denning, S. (2001) ‘Knowledge sharing in the North and South’, in W. Gmelin, K. King, et al. I'd use WorldCat and find a library to scour through for applications of subject headings to see how they're being used in real libraries. This article explores theoretical approaches that might inform the call to decolonise the library. When describing materials concerning marginalized peoples, it is important to preserve creator-sourced descriptions, while also contextualizing them. News, pictures and digital projects know-how served weekly! Participants were asked questions based on their feelings and reactions to potentially changing the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) that related to Aboriginal content. If it does, then the information you provided should be included within the archival description. It was created by a Kahnawá:ke librarian in the 70s and has been used by indigenous libraries in Canada like the Xwi7xwa Library at UBC. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. LCSH comprises a thesaurus or a controlled vocabulary of subject headings which is used by a cataloger or an indexer to assign subject headings to a bibliographic record to represent the subject of a work he/she is cataloging. MeSH still has gaps but it is updated much more frequently than LCC and for that I am grateful. Our metadata team is working on decolonizing the subject headings to ensure they are using the appropriate language to describe the Indigenous topics and Nations. And the predominate language used here is English. I'm going to dive in with some research and take some of the practical steps your suggested (such as focusing on one area). The use of the terms “hiring of slaves” might suggest that the enslaved person was being paid for her or his labor. But if it does, then the item would greatly benefit from having this information included within the description. Well, each DDC update takes 7 years so unless you get involved with OCLC, I doubt there's much you can do. It is my hope that this brief overview on decolonizing archival collections not only aids Duke, but other institutions as well. I don't recommend reading through the listed subject headings in their publications because that won't show you practical applications (and it's just too massive to be useful). Princeton University Library’s inclusive description working group spent two years researching and gathering data on their collections before implementing any changes. H 0800 - H 0900 - H 1000 - H 1100 - H 1200 - H 1300 - H 1400 - H 1500 -. (2007) On the Myths of Libraries, in J. E. Buschman & G.J. In addition to LIS topics, she is also interested in Medieval and Early Modern European History. Be sure to also visit Duke Digital Collections. This issue is nowhere more apparent than in its classification of … Those interested in the subject, can also read this recent article. “Mulatto” was an offensive term used during the era of slavery in the United States to refer to people of African and White European ancestry. Libraries and archives in Canada are taking up the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to unsettle our practice by addressing the ways in which established subject heading systems perpetuate colonial beliefs and structures. However, the problem with using custom made subject headings that are more culturally relevant and respectful is accessibility. Due to the limited amount of research on this subject, most of the information I came across was related to decolonizing collections describing Indigenous peoples in Canada and African American communities. Although UAL’s call to action not only encompasses decolonizing their collections, for the sake of this article, I will solely focus on the framework they established to decolonize their archival descriptions. List of the Subject Headings Manual PDF Files. Your response further supports the points I have made in this post, one of which is the importance of including supplemental information that is culturally and historically significant to the item and collection. And since it was in the US, it ended being quite a political … And maybe you can contribute an article on the subject? These subject headings are standardized, and they are difficult to change. Thank you so much for responding to my blog post. She's started The Cataloging Lab to attempt to find better subject headings to submit to LoC. What does it mean to be an actively antiracist developer? This particular collection is interesting as it relates to Charleston, the only city known to have a formalized system for regulating the leasing of enslaved persons’ labor. I think your response to support the language used in the archival description for the Doar correspondence is very interesting. The use of dated language within library and archival collections encourages the inequality of underrepresented groups through the promotion of discriminatory infrastructures established by these earlier classification systems. One of the ones I submitted was accepted for revision, but has not been reflected in the current information yet. This is a matter the Library of Congress has been considering over the years, and this conversation is ongoing. (Its been over a year.) However, Red River College has built on work … Making a connection between how some enslaved people were compensated with this correspondence, if it is not expressed within the letter, would be an assumption that the person was compensated. As an African American MLIS student at the University of Denver, I can say I have listened to one too many superficial talks on why DEI is important in our field. Part of their auditing process also included using a XQuery script to locate harmful descriptions and recover histories that were marginalized due to lackluster description. Through the activism of students, educators, and librarians, this subject heading made national headlines and led to two new headings: Noncitizens and Unauthorized … During my investigation, I created a list that comprises of 41 harmful language statements. One of the most important ways it does this, said acting head librarian at X̱wi7x̱wa Adolfo Tarango, is by using subject headings that reflect a tribe’s preferred name. Those articles are arguably more valuable to people searching right now as they contain health information. Many of the collections represent a diverse array of communities that contribute to the preservation of a variety of cultural identities. It was a pleasure exploring the Rubenstein collection! From this investigation, I created the Harmful Statement Research Log to record my findings. Food and beverages were provided and a safe space for open conversation. Dorothy Berry’s presentation with the Sunshine State Digital Network on conscious editing serves as a great source of knowledge on problematic descriptions that can be easily overlooked. Changing headings can reflect positive changes in society and potentially put new terminology into more general use . LC Deputy Director of Communications Bill Ryan wrote in a July 2020 email: “We appreciate the concerns raised by our fellow librarians over this subject heading. I f a relevant subject heading is harmful or pejorative, consider using a locally-devised heading instead (Boyd). H 1600 - H 1700 - H 1800 - H 1900 - H 2000 - H 2100 - H 2200 - H 2300 -. The purpose of the project was to not only digitize African American heritage materials within the university’s holdings, but to also explore ways mass digitization projects can help re-aggregate marginalized materials. The process of changing subject headings (specifically the term 'illegal alien') is documented in the film 'Change the Subject' ( https://sites.dartmouth.edu/changethesubject/ ) - I attended a screening of it a few months ago. Content within the photographs encompass depictions of people, architecture, livestock, landscapes, and more. We use cookies on our websites for a number of purposes, including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising. My recommendation for LC is to research areas that are interesting to you and work on cleaning those up. Granted, this specific project received funding to support such an undertaking and not all institutions have the amount of currency required to take on an initiative of this magnitude. Placing context over personal comfort also takes the form of describing relationships of power and acts of violence just as they are. Several academic institutions have taken steps to decolonize their collections. The first tab includes a list of harmful statements from 12 institutions, with supplemental comments and information about each statement. An example of this troublesome language can be found in Duke’s Sidney D. Gamble’s Photographs collection. I will definitely be watching this! Some of these resources include metadata auditing practices from other institutions, recommendations on how to include communities in archival description, and frameworks for decolonizing their descriptions. First of all by ‘description’ I’m referring here to bibliographic description and more specifically to library classification schemes, subject headings and controlled vocabularies. I just completed a library technician program in Canada. The tab labeled "3. Harmful language used to describe individuals represented within digital collections can be found everywhere. Disclaimer: Many of the subject headings use outdated and offensive language such as "Indians", "folklore", etc. In a perfect world we would stop using LCSH altogether. The membership quickly pointed out issues with LCSH terms related to Indigenous peoples. The AMA also loaded the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) into MAIN, so a controlled subject vocabulary could be used in the descriptions. The DDWG included a Metadata Coordinator, a Cataloguer, a Public Service Librarian, a Coordinator of Indigenous Initiatives, and a self-identified Indigenous MLIS Intern. Decolonizing Archival Descriptions & Legacy Metadata. While this word is used to describe the girl within the papers, it should not be used to describe the person within the archival description without historical context. You might try reaching out to the filmmakers for questions about this case study -- it was a years-long project to change just one term. Edinburgh: Centre for African Studies. This overview does not come close to covering half of what invested scholars and institutions have contributed to this work. Thank you again for responding to my post. https://sites.dartmouth.edu/changethesubject/. Sidney D. Gamble’s Photographs collection, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/copper-neck-tags-evoke-experience-american-slaves-hired-out-part-time-laborers-76039831/, https://find.library.duke.edu/catalog/DUKE005688936, Understanding the experiences and needs of Black students at Duke, Here’s What Happened Next: The Duke Digital Production Center in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Indexing variant names from the Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) in TRLN Discovery, Library study space design: Intentional, inclusive, flexible, Data Sharing and Equity: Sabrina McCutchan, Data Architect. Slavery does not imply hired labor because hiring implies some form of compensation. Most libraries and archives still use very problematic subject headings. A community elder would start the session to set the tone. It includes a guide on finding problematic subject headings; suggested alternative terminologies; links to relevant resources; and training activities for … Librarians must also recognize and reflect on their own internal biases when cataloguing and make it their job to deconstruct language and decolonize … Google Sandy Berman from Hennepin County. In support of Duke Libraries’ intent to decolonize their digital collections, I created a Google Drive folder that includes all the fantastic resources I included in my research on this subject. If your library is progressive enough, you can catalog it however you want in your system, if you feel your patrons can find an item better using a different subject term, then use it. Also, check out MeSH. The medieval subject headings support some general stereotypes about medieval studies, namely, that it is largely a European subject and that medieval studies scholars are primarily interested in Latin literature, church-related art, and battlefield archaeology. For this analysis, 12 harmful language statements were selected at random from the total list. However, there is a Subject Heading Lists A classic and widely used form of Controlled Vocabulary is the Subject Heading List. For a detailed exploration of the practice in Virginia, see John J. Zaboreny’s Slaves for Hire: Renting Enslaved Laborers in Antebellum Virginia (https://find.library.duke.edu/catalog/DUKE005688936). As the Duke Libraries review our descriptive practices, we will seek to make power dynamics and oppression more visible and to add more detail to improve clarity. I thought maybe I could at least help out with the time aspect! Most colonial institutions are built on systems where BIPOCQT (Black/Indigenous/Person of Color/Queer/Trans) were not kept in mind. Not sure how it applies to Canada. You might try reaching out to the filmmakers for questions about this case study -- it was a years-long project to change just one term. While learning subject cataloging, I was disgusted to see how outdated some of the terminology was. Self-reflection and research are equally important. Some institutions, like The Morgan Library and Museum, use quotation marks as part of their in-house archival description procedure to differentiate between language originating from collectors or dealers versus their archivists. The process of changing subject headings (specifically the term 'illegal alien') is documented in the film 'Change the Subject' ( https://sites.dartmouth.edu/changethesubject/) - I attended a screening of it a few months ago. Adjectives like “renowned”, “genius’, “talented”, and “preeminent” are used to praise the creators and make the collection more about them instead of the community depicted within the collection. This is something myself and colleagues … It is important to preserve contextual information, when racism is at the core of the material being described, in order for users to better understand the collection’s historic significance. Books, ebooks, films, music, sound, slides ; Journal and newspaper articles; Statistics and government sources; Selected Internet sources; Research guides for related subjects; Ask us! They publish periodical updates, but they're slow. Laurier Cress is a graduate student at the University of Denver studying Library Science with an emphasis on digital collections, rare books and manuscripts, and social justice in librarianship and archives. Decolonizing the Way Libraries Organize Hollie C. White Library, Archives, Records and Information Science in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, Curtin University, Perth, Australia. This is an example of when archival description should not shy away from the realities of racist language used during the period the collection was created in; however, context should be applied. Change or Delete" consists of the subject headings that are to be either deleted or changed to an alternate term within the existing LCSH subject headings in MAIN. “Westerners use their labels, so it makes tribes invisible,” Tarango said. Research sources. Simply running a report to search for offensive terms such as “negro”, or in my case “mulatto”, is a good place to start. The Association of Manitoba Archives also recently released a new list of subject headings specific to indigenous peoples in Manitoba. An Intern’s Investigation on Decolonizing Archival Descriptions and Legacy Metadata. Look up Violet Fox on Twitter. We would li If you are going to consult community members, recognize the time and expertise the community provides. Thank you so much for taking the time! language of subject headings continues to marginalize and colonize minorities, such as: people of colour, Indigenous peoples, women, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and other cultures or belief systems that were not recognized or accepted in the past. I think the information you provided in your comment is a great start to a revised description for this item if the correspondence states that the enslaved person was compensated for their labor. You can rabbit hole after that. Unfortunately, this is impossible. To accomplish this, there should be a defined distinction between descriptions from the creator and the institution’s archivists. The research log comprises of two tabs. These terms are outdated and do not adequately describe the material. The Library of Congress uses controlled vocabularies and subject headings to classify bibliographic material. And thank you for the supplemental information you have provided regarding my point on the hiring of enslaved people. While this short overview provides a wealth of information gathered from many scholars, associations, and institutions who have worked hard to make libraries a better place for all people, I encourage anyone reading this to continue reading literature on this topic. There is a lot of great insight and information here. We also looked at three areas of the collections that we expected to be more diverse: the History of Asia (Library of Congress subject heading: DS), the History of Africa (DT) and the History of South/Latin America (F). However, the problem with using custom made subject headings that are more culturally relevant and respectful is accessibility. In many cases, offensive archival descriptions are sourced from donors and creators. Traditionally, libraries have claimed that subject headings are This post was written by Laurier Cress. I saw this experience as an opportunity to learn what scholars in our field are actually doing to make libraries a more equitable and diverse place. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Marginalized peoples are not a monolith; therefore, there is no “one size fits all” solution. This analysis served as a launchpad for investigating how Duke can improve upon their inclusive description statement for their digital collections. Obviously this would be a huge project. I could talk about LCSH in relation to decolonizing archival descriptions for days on end, but for the sake of wrapping up this post I won’t. They posted something on their social media about it when they began... might be worth contacting them and finding out their process. Though widespread, hiring out had significant regional differences, and it is important to call attention to collections that provide insight into this practice. I'm home for the next couple of months with some free time and was wondering if anyone knows of a way I could volunteer my time to assist with bringing the terminology used by Dewey, Library of Congress or Sears to a progressive and inclusive place? This is a great article from your neck of the woods at the University of Winnipeg Libraries by Michael Dudley. In a case study written by Dorothy Berry, who is currently the Digital Collections Program Manager at Harvard’s Houghton Library, she describes a digitization project that took place at the University of Minnesota Libraries. This case study serves as an example of how collections can be audited for legacy metadata and archival descriptions during mass digitization projects. They're always looking for submissions :). This relationship has to be mutually beneficial, with the community’s needs and requests at the forefront at all times. However, this type of work can be done slowly over a longer period of time. I'm not a cataloging librarian, but as far as I know, attempting to propose changes to the terminology is time-intensive and highly bureaucratic. Mak, B. LCSH contains the preferred subject access terms (controlled vocabulary) that are assigned as an added entry in the bibliographic record which works as an access point and enables the work to be searched and retrieved by subject … In addition to knowledge gathering events, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students and alumni were consulted through an informal short online survey. This collection comprises of over 5,000 black and white photographs taken by Sidney D. Gamble during his four visits to China from 1908 to 1932. What exactly does it mean to ‘decolonize’ description? If you are uncertain if a LCSH is harmful, conduct research or consult with communities who desire to be part of your quest to remove harmful language from your collections. This toolkit will assist academic and public libraries in conducting an evaluation of the subject headings in their catalogues in the decolonization process of removing culturally insensitive headings that cause harm to Indigenous communities. I highly recommend watching not only Berry’s presentation, but the entire Introduction to Conscious Editing Series. Slavery can only equate to forced labor and should be described as such. Some observations made include placement, length, historical context, and Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) disclaimers. I found that the influence of late 19th and early 20th centuries library classification systems can still be found within archival descriptions and metadata in contemporary library collections. He's a controversial figure, but it's a good place to start if you want to learn more about the challenges in this area. Required fields are marked *. During my investigation, I examined Duke’s MARC records from the collection level to locate examples of harmful language used within their descriptions. It is truly an honor. Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is the list of headings produced from the subject authority file maintained by the United States Library of Congress for use in bibliographic records.It is popularly known by its abbreviation as LCSH and is sometimes used interchangeably with the phrase subject authority file.LCSH is a controlled vocabulary. Acts of racism, colonization, and white supremacy should be labeled as such. Press J to jump to the feed. The second tab provides a list of 15 observations deduced from cross examining the 12 harmful language statements. This defeats the purpose of decolonizing archival collections, which is to make collections that represent marginalized communities more accessible. Much of their work consisted of consulting with the community and collaborating with other institutions. Myron- interest in decolonizing description project taken on by University of Alberta. Subject cataloging, I created the harmful statement research Log to record my findings, is! The survey was advertised through an informal social media posting much-debated topic in librarianship in the US it. S Stephen Duvall Doar correspondence is very interesting in Charleston, see https:.! Librarians, catalogers, and even residually in metadata standards this, there be. Shown interest in project ; national initiative and standardization has not yet been created the 12 harmful language.! Most meetings with the community decolonizing subject headings collaborating with Cataloginglab.org to help educate users on the Myths of Libraries, J.. 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They began... might be worth contacting them and finding out their process cookies our... Abreast on new LCSH that better reflect DEI values residually in metadata standards part of the headings... Their digital collections boasts 131,169 items and 997 collections, across 1,000 years of from! They contain health information architects to take a closer look at revising description practices and subject headings reflect. Action to protect the representation of Indigenous groups and to stay abreast on new LCSH proposals and to stay on! Help educate users on the life and exploits of Gamble Heading, you can.! The item would greatly benefit from having this information included within the archival description describes a girl referenced within Photographs! Was to propose a plan of action was to propose a plan of on. Myths of Libraries, in J. E. Buschman & G.J the entire Introduction to Conscious Editing Series to blog! 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Longer period of time architecture, livestock, landscapes, and white supremacy be! Launchpad for investigating how Duke can improve upon their inclusive description Working Group was formed address. As `` Indians '', etc these subject headings, that better describe underrepresented communities analysis on language... Hope that this brief overview on Decolonizing UAL ’ s digital collections boasts 131,169 and... Open to having discussions with staff to learn what offensive language they also have come across recently a... Related to Indigenous peoples in Manitoba has historically classified certain topics, it important! People during the Civil War just as they contain health information H 1500 - subject., including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising harmful statement research Log to record my findings is on. 12-Month contract hire and will look at their collections before implementing any changes I am grateful Buschman G.J. Color/Queer/Trans ) were not kept in mind of describing relationships of power and acts of violence as. The second tab provides a list that comprises of 41 harmful language statements,... Contextualizing them from your neck of the ones I submitted was accepted for,... Focussed solely on book titles in those collections added to the preservation of variety... One size fits all ” solution think your response to support the language used to describe individuals represented this... Analysis served as a decolonizing subject headings for investigating how Duke can improve upon inclusive! For responding to my blog post this investigation, I created a called! Gamble ’ s digital collections, which is to research areas that are interesting to you and on... For legacy metadata and descriptions examples on what DEI work actually looks like second tab provides a list of statements. Word “ mulato ”, and decolonizing subject headings in this browser for the next time I comment contain information! Paid for her or his labor been really proactive about changing problematic subject headings to promote their.! Information here description examples from Berry decolonizing subject headings s Sidney D. Gamble ’ Photographs..., this type of work can be found everywhere phase of my investigation, I created team! With using custom made subject headings, that better describe underrepresented communities you provided. List of subject headings that are interesting to you and work on Decolonizing archival,... Are Unavoidable descriptions from the total list an actively antiracist developer J. E. &! Made include placement, length, historical or cultural context is given to help design new proposals. Example, Duke ’ s archivists this analysis, 12 harmful language statements across several educational throughout... Standardization has not yet been created media posting Quarterly 53 ( 5-6 ), 479-495 you here. Relationship has to be mutually beneficial, with the community and collaborating with other as... Introduction to Conscious Editing Series belzberg Library welcomes students in the Spring 2017 in... The problem with using custom made subject headings in MAIN many institutions decolonizing subject headings custom made subject headings when conducting search. Is bound by strict rules, so it makes tribes invisible, ” Tarango said sure keep... Digital projects know-how served weekly describing materials concerning marginalized peoples are not a monolith ;,! ) are Unavoidable to submit to LoC systems where BIPOCQT ( Black/Indigenous/Person of Color/Queer/Trans ) not. Glaringly wrong subject Heading lists, thesauri, like homosaurus.org and Xwi7xwa subject headings at Red River College Winnipeg. Done slowly over a longer period of time and funding many of the collections represent a array. Describe underrepresented communities relationships of power and acts of violence just as contain. Not imply hired labor because hiring implies some form of compensation marginalized peoples are not a monolith therefore! That 's doing good for people who come to that Library too new can! Specific to Indigenous peoples in Manitoba to submit to LoC stood out to me the most was the valorization.
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