LHRT (Library History Round Table)

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The mission of the Library History Round Table (LHRT) is to encourage research and publication on library history and promote awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship.

Learn more about LHRT on the ALA website.

  • 1.  Library History Bibliography - seeking feedback

    Posted 11 days ago
    Greetings all,

    Recently I shared the good news regarding the launch of the library history bibliography database.  https://openpublishing.psu.edu/blh/

    There are well over 7,000 records in the database, mostly citations.  Happily, I was able to get a sabbatical leave to enrich the brief records.   This is where I could use your help.  My goal is to add subject terms to each record that will help library historians discover publications in their area of interest.   I've developed a draft list of headings, pasted below.  You'll also see some questions I am still pondering.  

     I'm certain there are things I've overlooked and my draft will surely benefit from new eyes and perspectives.  Are there omissions?, terms that are confusing?  terms that should be avoided?, or other things I should be considering?   

    Please send thoughts, criticisms, concerns to me.   It's possible to change and add headings at anytime, but I'd like to a good foundation in place before I devote the next several months to editing all 7000+ records.

    Hope this all makes sense.  If anything is incoherent, I blame lingering effects from a tick bite.   �� 

    Best,
    Eric  

    Tag each publication with the Chronological Period  Ancient Period (pre 500)  - relatively little library history scholarship for this period Single headings for Medieval Period (500-1500) and Early Modern? (1500-1800) OR go by centuries, 6th century, 7th century, 15th century, 16th century etc...?   leaning towards going with centuries. Given that many records relate to the19th century and 20th century, it may be valuable to split these further,  I'm thinking 1800-1849, 1850-1899 and 1900-1949, 1950-1999. 21st century - don't expect many of these in the current database, but anticipate more if the database is updated with recent publications.
    How to treat publications that span multiple centuries?   Should a book covering the ancient period up to today get all the chronological periods assigned or none?  Should the heading be "chronological focus"? 
     
    Demographics - this is intended to help library historians find publications about a group they are interested in.  With the current database platform these would be a single list for searchers to select, rather than broken out below.  They would also be clickable links in individual records, so a searcher could find one item of interest and click on the heading to find related records.
    Many of the terms were taken from the Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/demographicTerms.html. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="0" style="color: #0000FF; margin: 0">https://id.loc.gov/authorities/demographicTerms.html 
    Age Groups  Children (suggested for birth to 12, other possible terms, Kids, preteens for 9-12.)   Teenagers (suggested for ages 13-18)  other possible terms, adolescents, teens) Adults (other possible term, Young Adults, 18-25) Older People  (other possible terms, Elderly People, Aged People. Senior Citizens) 
     
    Gender Groups 
    LGBTQ   (suggested alternate terms, gay and lesbian people, gays, homosexuals, sexual minorities. Lots of variations on the acronyms, GLBT people, GLBTQ people, LGBTQ people.  
    Gay men (other possible terms, Homosexual males, Homosexual men) Lesbians (other possible terms, gay females, homosexual females, gay women)
    Transgender people (other possible terms, Trans people,  Trans identified people, transgendered people) Men  (possible alternative term, "males")  Women (possible alternative term, "females") 
     It is possible to assign multiple headings to a record, so I envision an article about services to gay people would include the headings LGBTQ, gay men, and lesbians.

    Racial/Ethnic Groups –
    African-Americans (possible alternative, "Black People")   
    Asian Americans (many headings for specific communities, e.g Indian Americans, Chinese Americans) 
    Indigenous or Native Americans  (other possible terms, Indigenous people of America, Aboriginal Americans, First Nation People (America), Indigenous Americans,  )    include indigenous communities for both north and south america? many alternatives,
    Immigrants (possible alternative terms, Foreigners, non-citizens)  Hispanic-Americans (possible alternative term, Latino Americans) Arab Americans
    Jewish American  
    To date I have not seen many articles focused on services to other religious groups, e.g. Muslims, but I will add headings as I encounter them
     
     How to deal with non-US communities?   Inclined not to tag a book about library services in Beijing as "services to Asians".  Searchers can use the geographic limiter for this.  But what about services to Afro-Latin Americans?  Would a heading like Black People (non-US), be useful to distinguish from African Americans without creating a new heading for country?   
       
     
    Other Groups 
    Homeless People
    Prisoners 
    People with Disabilities 
    Students   
    These are based on records I've seen while creating the database.  I will add other groups as I encounter them.  

    Library/Institution Type   Largely derived from LC headings,  https://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1" style="color: #0563C1; margin: 0">https://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html.  
      
    Academic Libraries (LC Heading), inclined not to use more specific headings, College Libraries, University Libraries, Undergraduate libraries.   
    Archives and Special Collections – LC has lots of more specific headings, medical archives, religious archives, etc..  Inclined to use broader heading 
    Art Libraries (LC Heading) 
    Association Libraries (LC heading) 
    Corporate/Business Libraries  - LC uses 2 headings,  "Business Libraries" for collections with a business focus, "corporate libraries" for those situated in a specific company.  more specific headings I am inclined not to use include "real estate libraries", "insurance libraries" 
    Government libraries.   (LC heading).    LC has separate categories for National Libraries and State Libraries, also Royal Libraries. Worth adding those specific headings?  
    Labor/Worker's Libraries  - LC Headings are Labor Libraries and Trade-Union Libraries 
    Law Libraries (LC Heading) 
    Medical libraries  (LC heading)  
        separate categories for specific types;Hospital libraries (LC heading)  Dental Libraries (LC heading)  Health Science Libraries (LC Heading). Also headings for veterinary libraries, nursing libraries. 
       separate category for STEM libraries? (LC Heading, Science and Technology Libraries).  many headings for specific types, math libraries, polar libraries, forestry libraries, etc...  Inclined to merge this into a single STEM category.  
    Military Libraries (LC heading).  related headings, Soldier's Libraries (and many variations, sailor's libraries, etc...).  Camp Libraries, War Libraries.  Maybe combine heading, Military/Soldier's/War Libraries? 
    Museums  (LC heading).  Also Museum Libraries.  Database includes some articles about museum, as well as libraries within museums.  Inclined to just use broad term encompassing both.
    Music Libraries (LC heading) 
    Public Libraries  (LC Heading) 
     related LC headings, Rural Libraries, County Libraries (include under government libraries?), Regional Libraries, Branch Libraries 
    Prison libraries  (LC Heading) 
    Split out juvenile detention facilities?  Related LC Headings, hospital libraries. Combine into broader heading, "Institution Libraries"? 
    Religious Libraries (LC Heading)   many more specific headings, Catholic libraries, Jewish libraries, monastic libraries, theological libraries.
    School libraries (LC Heading)  - Lots of more detailed headings, high school libraries, classroom libraries, rural school libraries. 
    Subscription Libraries (LC heading).  Related heading, "membership libraries" 
     
    I'm hoping to strike a balance between too broad and overly specific.  I could combine a number of the above into the broad heading "special libraries", but that heading feels too broad to be useful.
    Suggestions for headings for early (pre-public libraries)?
     


    Eric Novotny

    Humanities Librarian for History, History of Science and Technology and Middle East Studies

    George and Sherry Middlemas Arts & Humanities Library

    Pennsylvania State University
    ecn1@psu.edu - 814-865-1014



  • 2.  RE: Library History Bibliography - seeking feedback

    Posted 8 days ago

    Hi Eric,

    I'm a cataloger by trade so these are my thoughts, though feel free to take them with a grain of salt:)

    Tag each publication with the Chronological Period  Ancient Period (pre 500)  - relatively little library history scholarship for this period Single headings for Medieval Period (500-1500) and Early Modern? (1500-1800) OR go by centuries, 6th century, 7th century, 15th century, 16th century etc...?   leaning towards going with centuries. Given that many records relate to the19th century and 20th century, it may be valuable to split these further,  I'm thinking 1800-1849, 1850-1899 and 1900-1949, 1950-1999. 21st century - don't expect many of these in the current database, but anticipate more if the database is updated with recent publications.
    How to treat publications that span multiple centuries?   Should a book covering the ancient period up to today get all the chronological periods assigned or none?  Should the heading be "chronological focus"? 
    Response: I always say be as specific as the resource. So I would add something more specific than century when warranted but if the resource doesn't provide that specificity then century is certainly appropriate. When multiple centuries are contained within the work I usually list both that are covered. Depending on whether you are basing this on LCSH or not you could do what you proposed with splitting the more recent centuries by half-century or by decades. I think that would be helpful so long as it is consistent. If multiple decades are covered I would just list all that are applicable. 
     
    Demographics - this is intended to help library historians find publications about a group they are interested in.  With the current database platform these would be a single list for searchers to select, rather than broken out below.  They would also be clickable links in individual records, so a searcher could find one item of interest and click on the heading to find related records.
    Many of the terms were taken from the Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/demographicTerms.html. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="0" style="color: #0000FF; margin: 0">https://id.loc.gov/authorities/demographicTerms.html 
    Age Groups  Children (suggested for birth to 12, other possible terms, Kids, preteens for 9-12.)   Teenagers (suggested for ages 13-18)  other possible terms, adolescents, teens) Adults (other possible term, Young Adults, 18-25) Older People  (other possible terms, Elderly People, Aged People. Senior Citizens) 
    Response: I agree with using the LC Demographic Terms List. The definitions are helpful in determining whether a term is applicable and it is readily available.
    Gender Groups 
    LGBTQ   (suggested alternate terms, gay and lesbian people, gays, homosexuals, sexual minorities. Lots of variations on the acronyms, GLBT people, GLBTQ people, LGBTQ people.  
    Gay men (other possible terms, Homosexual males, Homosexual men) Lesbians (other possible terms, gay females, homosexual females, gay women)
    Transgender people (other possible terms, Trans people,  Trans identified people, transgendered people) Men  (possible alternative term, "males")  Women (possible alternative term, "females") 
     It is possible to assign multiple headings to a record, so I envision an article about services to gay people would include the headings LGBTQ, gay men, and lesbians.
    Response: You could use something like the Homosaurus which provides a controlled vocabulary that was created by these communities. https://homosaurus.org/v3
    Racial/Ethnic Groups –
    African-Americans (possible alternative, "Black People")   
    Asian Americans (many headings for specific communities, e.g Indian Americans, Chinese Americans) 
    Indigenous or Native Americans  (other possible terms, Indigenous people of America, Aboriginal Americans, First Nation People (America), Indigenous Americans,  )    include indigenous communities for both north and south america? many alternatives,
    Immigrants (possible alternative terms, Foreigners, non-citizens)  Hispanic-Americans (possible alternative term, Latino Americans) Arab Americans
    Jewish American  
    To date I have not seen many articles focused on services to other religious groups, e.g. Muslims, but I will add headings as I encounter them
     
     How to deal with non-US communities?   Inclined not to tag a book about library services in Beijing as "services to Asians".  Searchers can use the geographic limiter for this.  But what about services to Afro-Latin Americans?  Would a heading like Black People (non-US), be useful to distinguish from African Americans without creating a new heading for country?   
       
    Response: This one is difficult as LCSH can do this but often imperfectly and sometimes with outdated terms. Aside from creating your own you could look at the UNESCO thesaurus and see if this would meet the needs of the database. https://vocabularies.unesco.org/browser/thesaurus/en/ 

    Other Groups 
    Homeless People
    Prisoners 
    People with Disabilities 
    Students   
    These are based on records I've seen while creating the database.  I will add other groups as I encounter them.  
    Library/Institution Type   Largely derived from LC headings,  https://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1" style="color: #0563C1; margin: 0">https://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html.  
      
    Academic Libraries (LC Heading), inclined not to use more specific headings, College Libraries, University Libraries, Undergraduate libraries.   
    Archives and Special Collections – LC has lots of more specific headings, medical archives, religious archives, etc..  Inclined to use broader heading 
    Art Libraries (LC Heading) 
    Association Libraries (LC heading) 
    Corporate/Business Libraries  - LC uses 2 headings,  "Business Libraries" for collections with a business focus, "corporate libraries" for those situated in a specific company.  more specific headings I am inclined not to use include "real estate libraries", "insurance libraries" 
    Government libraries.   (LC heading).    LC has separate categories for National Libraries and State Libraries, also Royal Libraries. Worth adding those specific headings?  
    Labor/Worker's Libraries  - LC Headings are Labor Libraries and Trade-Union Libraries 
    Law Libraries (LC Heading) 
    Medical libraries  (LC heading)  
        separate categories for specific types;Hospital libraries (LC heading)  Dental Libraries (LC heading)  Health Science Libraries (LC Heading). Also headings for veterinary libraries, nursing libraries. 
       separate category for STEM libraries? (LC Heading, Science and Technology Libraries).  many headings for specific types, math libraries, polar libraries, forestry libraries, etc...  Inclined to merge this into a single STEM category.  
    Military Libraries (LC heading).  related headings, Soldier's Libraries (and many variations, sailor's libraries, etc...).  Camp Libraries, War Libraries.  Maybe combine heading, Military/Soldier's/War Libraries? 
    Museums  (LC heading).  Also Museum Libraries.  Database includes some articles about museum, as well as libraries within museums.  Inclined to just use broad term encompassing both.
    Music Libraries (LC heading) 
    Public Libraries  (LC Heading) 
     related LC headings, Rural Libraries, County Libraries (include under government libraries?), Regional Libraries, Branch Libraries 
    Prison libraries  (LC Heading) 
    Split out juvenile detention facilities?  Related LC Headings, hospital libraries. Combine into broader heading, "Institution Libraries"? 
    Religious Libraries (LC Heading)   many more specific headings, Catholic libraries, Jewish libraries, monastic libraries, theological libraries.
    School libraries (LC Heading)  - Lots of more detailed headings, high school libraries, classroom libraries, rural school libraries. 
    Subscription Libraries (LC heading).  Related heading, "membership libraries" 
     
    I'm hoping to strike a balance between too broad and overly specific.  I could combine a number of the above into the broad heading "special libraries", but that heading feels too broad to be useful.
    Suggestions for headings for early (pre-public libraries)?
    Response: I think providing greater specificity when the work does is helpful. I'm not sure about terms for pre-public libraries. Maybe there are some but I don't know.
    This is all great and I am glad you got sabbatical time to work on this. I think this will be tremendously helpful.
    Karl


    ------------------------------
    Karl Pettitt
    Coordinator of Cataloging and Metadata Services
    University of Denver Libraries
    ------------------------------

    Original Message