Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion in Descriptive Metadata

1. Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion in Descriptive Metadata A Discussion IRDW Visiting Scholars, MSU Libraries, May 2017 Slides: bit.ly/2r12mk5

2. Lisa Lorenzolorenzo7@mail.lib.msu.edu Digital Information & Systems metadata transformation & sharing Elisa Landaverdeelandav@msu.edu Digital Information & Systems metadata creation & transformation Autumn Faulknerautumn@msu.eduCataloging & Metadata Services traditional cataloging & authority work a brief look at the issues

3. problems with LCSH, broadly • LCSH is very widely used • Tension between using and improving LCSH versus creating a better but less widely implemented vocabulary • Underlying principle: what would a typical library patron search for? • Problem: the “typical library patron” has long been defined as “American/Western European, Christian, white, heterosexual, and male” (Marshall 1977) • Choosing terms representative of a single worldview over neutral language makes discovery harder for patrons unrepresented by that worldview and casts their experiences as atypical

4. “illegal aliens” heading • Background: • In 2014, students and librarians at Dartmouth College began a petition to change the LCSH term “Illegal aliens” to “Noncitizens” and “Unauthorized immigration” • LC announced in March 2016 that the heading change would go forward • On June 10, 2016, Congress passed a spending bill with a rider that mandated LC continue to use the “Illegal aliens” heading

5. Native American subject headings • Excludes tribes that have not been federally recognized • Favors generalizations over specific, localized details • Reflects colonial worldview • Hierarchical structure of LCSH cannot reflect complex relationships between ethnic groups and languages • Inconsistent subdivisions reflect biases and misconceptions about various tribes

6. neutrality vs. responsibility Janet A. Ginsburg Chicago Tribune Collection • Description of images • Subject headings • LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials https://www.lib.msu.edu/branches/dmc/tribune/

7. race Squaw “Up-and-at-’Em,” granddaughter of Pocahontas, who originated the sparkling line, “I certainly have everything on but the kitchen stove!” • Indians of North America--Women • Ethnic stereotypes--1930-1940 https://www.lib.msu.edu/branches/dmc/tribune/detail.jsp?id=379

8. gender “Miss A. is imaginative and reflective. She has reserve, integrity, and perceptive judgement. She is not the forceful or vital type, but her mental qualifications and feminine characteristics constitute good equipment.” • Awards--1930-1940 • Beauty contestants--Middle West--1930-1940 • Beauty contests--Illinois--Chicago--1930-1940 • Women--Middle West--1930-1940 https://www.lib.msu.edu/branches/dmc/tribune/detail.jsp?id=15028

9. past or present? • United States. Immigration Act of 1924 • Emigration & immigration--1920-1930 https://www.lib.msu.edu/branches/dmc/tribune/detail.jsp?id=12321

10. a quick linked data primer render info on the Web as structured RDF statements: SUBJECT → PREDICATE → OBJECT no more text strings! instead, we’re building a web of interlinked URIs: Ben Aaronovitch → wrote → Midnight Riot Midnight Riot → also expressed as → audiobook Midnight Riot audiobook → narrated by → Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

11. can linked data make metadata more inclusive? MARC → controlled text string is the unique identifier Linked data → URI is the unique identifier

12. can linked data make metadata more inclusive?

13. more immediate possibilities user tagging • Chicano/a activism • Chicanx political posters local subject headings • Chicanx -- Politics and government -- Posters.

14. the myth of neutrality • critique vs. concrete change • user tagging some questions for you

15. 2017.10.20 MMDP Discussion • Challenge: platforms that separate items from their metadata and collection context present a challenge, people may find an item without its description that could provide context/content warnings • How much of an authority can catalogers/describers be? Myth of neutrality • How far should we go, sometimes open to interpretation • User tagging? Also risky • Controlled vocabularies important for collocating materials, but are usually inadequate for describing problematic content • Aspect of teaching researchers/students about terminology used in the past • (Emily Drabinski) less utility in trying to change broken systems, teach researchers to be aware of power structures implicitly described in controlled vocabularies • How much can linked data help--using vocabularies from a variety of communities • Illegal aliens headings--student protests at Dartmouth lead to a conversation between librarians and protesters about how LCSH are created and changed, worked together to take issue up to the Library of Congress • Increase transparency of how we describe resources (e.g. the date of cataloging provides important context), make it clearer that descriptions aren’t set in stone • What is our responsibility to contextualize vs. what should be left for researchers’ interpretation • Not much professional guidance broadly, solutions now are mostly local • Local codes of ethics for cataloging • Be aware of the authority one has in describing • Notes/disclaimers for problematic terminology • Challenges in platforms like HathiTrust--institution’s name is attached to the item, but have no control over language used in description (symptom of the fact that digitization is sometimes rushed, lack of planning for things like metadata updates)