Please consider joining the ALCTS CaMMS Catalog Management Interest Group during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, for the following three presentations:
When: Saturday, January 25, 2020, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Where: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Room 126-A
- Cataloger's Judgment: Bringing Ethical Considerations Into a Fluid Space
Presenters: Paromita Biswas, Continuing Resources Metadata Librarian, UCLA Library Cataloging & Metadata Center; and Ann Hallyburton, Research and Instruction Librarian / Liaison to the Health and Human Sciences, Hunter Library, Western Carolina University
This presentation will focus on ethical cataloging and its importance in creating equitable access to information. The Library of Congress Subject Heading Manual instruction sheet H 0180 states, "Individual cataloger knowledge and judgment inevitably play a role in assessing what is significant in a work's contents, but headings should not be assigned that reflect a cataloger's opinion about the contents." This instruction sheet advocates for objectivity and accuracy in assigning subject headings while also acknowledging the role of the cataloger's knowledge and judgment. It is in this space that catalogers can make ethical choices in assigning or updating subject metadata for a resource.
The presenters will begin with an exploration of how the presence or absence of a subject heading can perpetuate hurtful misrepresentations of underrepresented or historically disenfranchised groups. They will draw from research on Library of Congress subject headings such as "East Indians," "Slaves," "Cross-dressers," "Female Impersonators," and "Male Impersonators" that perpetuate either antiquated colonialist biases or invalidate personhood. The presenters will include cases where the absence of a needed heading complicates information retrieval while perpetuating bias. The presenters will offer ways catalogers can challenge biased narratives.
Catalogers can advocate for changing existing headings or adding new ones that respect diverse identities, a process that can indeed be long, complicated, and sometimes unfruitful. Examples of records where a different choice of subject headings can subvert or challenge dominant narratives will be provided. The presenters will then advocate for increased training for catalogers on how to consider multiple perspectives in their work and also what it means to use controlled vocabularies.
- Implementing Local Alternatives to the "Illegal aliens" LCSH
Presenters: Violet Fox; Tina Gross, Catalog Librarian, St. Cloud State University; Cate Kellett, Catalog and Government Documents Librarian, Yale Law School; Karl Pettitt, Coordinator of Cataloging & Metadata Services, University of Denver
In June 2019, the CaMMS Subject Analysis Committee created the SAC Working Group on Alternatives to LCSH "Illegal aliens." The working group has received survey responses from over 35 individual libraries, library systems, and library consortia who have made changes in their catalog to replace this offensive subject heading and/or add terminology for increased accessibility.
The report of the working group compiles information from this survey, as well as additional material about potential replacement terms and advice about making local changes in each major ILS and discovery layer. This presentation will be an opportunity to hear about the results of the working group as well as a chance to discuss rationales and strategies for making similar changes that reflect inclusive, respectful language in our catalogs.
- Strategies and Tools for Transforming Unstructured Metadata into Structured Linked Data
Presenter: Darnelle O. Melvin, Special Collections and Archives Metadata Librarian & Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
To support a growing need for better tools and systems that support open access, the FAIR Data Principles, data interoperability, and digital preservation, UNLV Special Collections is currently migrating its digital collections out of CONTENTdm and implementing an open source repository solution for digital preservation and access utilizing the Islandora 8 ecosystem. Islandora 8 can be used to harness Drupal 8's ability to transform existing digital object metadata into linked data.
In this presentation, a Special Collections Metadata Librarian discusses low barrier opportunities to enhance existing descriptions in preparation of publishing repository metadata as linked data, presents a workflow that uses a variety of tools and techniques to manipulate and transform existing descriptions, and touches on the importance of the design of robust metadata application profiles to support a variety of descriptive, technical, and administrative metadata use cases. The presentation will conclude with a review of open source tools to aid data preparation.
This information is also available online: www.eventscribe.com/2020/ALA-Midwinter/fsPopup.asp?Mode=presInfo&PresentationID=665006. We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Marina Morgan & Dan Tam Do
CMIG Co-Chairs
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Marina Morgan
Metadata Librarian
Florida Southern College Roux Library
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