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Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) / Metadata

Advancing IDEAs: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, 11 July 2023

July 11, 2023July 11, 2023 - by Merrilee Proffitt

The following  post is one in a regular series on issues of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility. Until the end of June, this series was compiled by Jay Weitz. We now have a new team contributing to this effort. Jay will continue to contribute, as retirement duties allow. We hope you continue to enjoy this series!

Webinar on designing for diversity in library communications

Sign created out of colorful wooden blocks, that reads "Welcome"
Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

On 13 July OCLC’s WebJunction will host Designing for Diversity in Your Library’s Communications. “Being intentional and inclusive in the design of your library’s communications, in both physical and digital library spaces, can support and enrich your library’s accessibility, diversity, and equity.” Presented by Mollie Peuler, eLearning Librarian, Appalachian State University (OCLC Symbol: NJB).

Research has shown that academic library spaces are not neutral, so it is worth investing extra effort to ensure that both physical and virtual spaces are truly welcoming. I’m excited that this WebJunction webinar will cover a range of aspects of diversity for consideration – according to the description, race, gender, and neurodiversity. (WebJunction webinars are open to all, and a recording will be posted after the event has concluded.) Contributed by Merrilee Proffitt

SACO Gender and Sexuality Funnel, and reducing harm in library discovery

The 9 June meeting of the OCLC Cataloging Community featured a diversity, equity, and inclusion session. The recordings, slides, and notes from this event are now available on this page. Presentations included:

  • The U.S. Board on Geographic Names – An Overview of the Processes for Approving Geographic Names for Federal Use. Presented by Betsy Kanalley, USDA Forest Service (OCLC Symbol: AGD).
  • Reparative Geographic Name Changes: Case Studies in Cataloging. Presented by Kate James, OCLC 
  • Queering the Catalog: SACO Gender and Sexuality Funnel. Presented by Margaret Breidenbaugh, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (OCLC Symbol: OCT) and Maya Espersen, Aurora Public Library, Colorado (OCLC Symbol: COB).
  • Rapid Harm Reduction Through Locally Defined Subjects in WorldCat Discovery. Presented by Grace McGann, OCLC.

The SACO Gender and Sexuality Funnel, formed in 2022, is reducing harm in library discovery by facilitating the revision of existing terms and creating new terms in Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). As a cataloger, I appreciate the importance of this project in continuing the viability of LCSH as an important source of subject terminology with decades of use for library metadata. LCSH provides over 355,000 topical subject headings on diverse topic such as, “Golf carts,” “Ecolinguistics,” and “Multimedia installations (Art).” The size of LSCH presents a maintenance challenge. This kind of project enables the cataloging community to take focused approach to updating LCSH rather than waiting for individual catalogers to propose changes as the need arises in their daily work. Contributed by Kate James.

As a recent hire at OCLC, I am very interested in learning about the many DEI projects in development here. The project that Grace described was inspired by OCLC’s report Reimagine Descriptive Workflows, which offered a framework of guidance for inclusive and reparative metadata work. Institutions using WorldCat Discovery can make local decisions about displaying potentially harmful subject headings in bibliographic records and which terms their respective communities would prefer to see. This meets the needs of catalogers who want to perform reparative metadata work today but also require the flexibility to update headings as national standards change. Contributed by Morris Levy.

Metadata Justice symposium

The second in an annual series of free online symposia from the University of Central Oklahoma Chambers Library (OCLC Symbol: OKX), Metadata Justice in Oklahoma Libraries and Archives Symposium will be held on 20 July. “Our intention with this event is to create a space for folks to share their ideas and to create a support network for those interested in this important work in our state’s libraries and archives,” according to the webinar’s organizers. Information Advocate Suzette Chang, the founder and CEO of Thick Descriptions, “a grassroots organization that disrupts traditional educational methods with anthropology,” will deliver the closing keynote address.

In addition to the relatively mainstream “Perspectives from SACO Funnel Coordinators,” the session will include reports about the local history and genealogy collections of Oklahoma’s Chickasha Public Library (OCLC Symbol: O2L), “Constructing a Values-Based Foundation for Metadata Justice Work” from Oklahoma State University (OCLC Symbol: OKS), “The Creation of the Tribal Nations of Oklahoma Metadata Database,” “The Fus Fixico Classification System” (which “empowers improved metadata and LoC subjects to thrive, while also still providing for user-friendly collocation”), and the exploitation of prison labor in the creation of the Oklahoma Yearbook Project.  Contributed by Jay Weitz.

Merrilee Proffitt

Merrilee Proffitt is Senior Manager for the OCLC RLP. She provides community development skills and expert support to institutions within the OCLC Research Library Partnership.

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