Advancing IDEAs: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, 21 January 2025

The following post is one in a regular series on issues of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility, compiled by a team of OCLC contributors.

Queer metadata presentation at the OCLC Cataloging Community Meeting

Bri Watson and Chloe Misorski will discuss the Best Practices for Queer Metadata at the 12 February 2025 virtual OCLC Cataloging Community Meeting. Watson and Misorski are members of the Queer Metadata Collective (QMDC), which consists of catalogers, librarians, archivists, scholars, and information professionals. Their best practices document covers the metadata treatment of queer people in Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Special Collections (GLAMS). The best practices cover many aspects of metadata, including subject headings, name authority records, and description used in finding aids, exhibit labels, and other places. This presentation will be featured in the first hour of the event, which is a DEI panel. Other parts of the presentation will feature OCLC staff discussing topics related to our cataloging products and services.

The Best Practices for Queer Metadata was released in June 2024. I have seen other excellent metadata best practices documents before, but this one is particularly impressive to me both because of the variety of metadata covered and types of institutions represented in the QMDC. I look forward to attending this presentation both to learn more about the document itself and how this diverse group was formed. Register here to attend this free event or receive a link to the recording afterwards. Contributed by Kate James.

Libraries, Integration, and New Americans Project

Libraries, Integration, and New Americans (LINA) is a three-year research project of the University of Maryland (OCLC symbol: UMC) College of Information (OCLC symbol: MDX), funded in part by the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS). The LINA Project examines the approaches that immigrants take toward information behavior in the complicated United States environment and suggests ways for libraries to better engage with immigrant communities. Since February 2024, LINA has been publishing a monthly “Policy & Media Digest,” keeping track of changes to U.S. policies, news items, recent publications, and a summary of U.S. regional developments. The January 2025 “Digest” is now available.

In these rapidly changing times, it is astonishing how much vital and current information the LINA Project stuffs into a single two-sided (virtual) sheet. Each issue of the “Digest” features an interactive map that gives access to state-by-state statistics, resources, and other data from authoritative sources. The project website contains toolkits and other resources that help any library provide improved services to its communities of new Americans, as well as the means for library workers to sign up for its discussion list. Contributed by Jay Weitz.

Safe Routes and StoryWalk® blend together at the DC Public Library

Two branches of the District of Columbia Public Library (OCLC Symbol: DWP) have implemented a mash up of Safe Routes and StoryWalk® an effort described in an engaging online report, “ Safe Routes StoryWalk”. The report shares details about the program design and implementation, as well as colorful illustrative images. The libraries were able to pilot their work through a grant from the District of Columbia Highway Safety Office. “To our knowledge,” the report says, the Safe Routes StoryWalk® project is the first of its kind.”

The Safe Routes to School program was created in 2005 and has been implemented in all 50 US states supported by federal and state funding. The program was based on the need to support all community members in safety but with recognition there was a need to target specific groups, “especially low-income communities, communities of color, and rural communities, where it is hard for anyone to safely and conveniently walk, bicycle, or get physical activity.” StoryWalk® was created in 2007 by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, in collaboration with former staff member Rachel Senechal, and is a registered service mark of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Like the Safe Routes project, StoryWalk® encourages movement and uses visual engagement outdoors to draw people to the library.  Safe Routes StoryWalk® installations at DCPL Benning Library in Ward 7 and Bellevue Library in Ward 8 target the Wards’ predominantly Black neighborhoods which according to data are disproportionately impacted by traffic fatalities and serious injuries. Bringing these two programs together to increase safety and draw families to the library is just one example of how public libraries can work creatively to serve multifaceted community needs around literacy, movement, inclusion, and public safety. For more ideas on how libraries can work in this area, check out this WebJunction webinar: One Step at a Time: How Libraries Can Promote Healthy, Thriving, and Livable Communities. Contributed by Merrilee Proffitt

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