Dec 5

Librarian Docs: Headings for Indian Tribes Recognized by the U.S. Government

junk-pile:

libraryjournal:

gov-info:

The Policy and Standards Division has determined that names of Indian tribes recognized by the U.S. government as legal entities will henceforth be tagged 151 (Geographic name) in name authority records rather than 110 (Corporate name), as they were previously tagged. This change in status of headings for tribal entities to 151 (Geographic name) will enable these headings to be used as jurisdictions when needed in cataloging. When a heading of this type is used to represent a government (110) the MARC 21 indicator will be set to “1” to reflect that this entity is acting as the name of a jurisdiction. These headings may also be used as geographic subdivisions, subdivided directly. This is in keeping with the guidance provided in rule 21.35 of theAnglo-American Cataloguing Rules2nd edition (AACR2) in regard to treating tribal entities as national governments.

By authority of the U.S. government, a growing number of tribal entities have been formally recognized and are federally acknowledged to have immunities and privileges by virtue of their government-to-government relationship with the United States as well as powers, limitations, responsibilities, and obligations attributed to such tribes. This means that tribes recognized by the U.S. government are independent, autonomous political entities with inherent powers of self- government; they possess sovereignty and are equivalent to national governments. To date, there are over 500 recognized tribes within the continental United States alone. Virtually all federally recognized tribes have jurisdiction over some delimited area of land, a geographic place, although land and area vary with each tribe.

Library racism.

I think moving American Indian tribes under geographic headings makes a lot more sense than keeping them under “corporate entities,” considering that they don’t function at all like corporations. They govern themselves apart from whatever local government is nearby, acting more like individual countries. I don’t really see how the LC’s move is racist.

Nah! What I meant was that it has taken the LoC this long to officially recognize the sovereignty of native tribes speaks to centuries of institutionalized racism. So in sum, the move is a good one, but overdue and reflective of some of the LoC’s longstanding problems.

Nov 24

queenslibrary:

We are heartened by all who, in the face of losing so much after Sandy, have taken the time to return their books—in whatever condition, and just as equally moved by their eagerness to find something new to check out!

Clarifications in re Indian Tribe LCSH

libraryjournal:

morerobots:

gov-info:

For the record: 1. This is not the first appearance of Nation LCSH. 2. For those non-catalogers: “corporation” in cat-speak means “group” or “organization” (as used in MARC field 110), not “company.”

I mean, it’s still racism because despite having Nation LCSH, it was refusing to acknowledge Nations as their own Governments, which they are.

More discussion on the recent LoC catalog changes for Native tribes.

morerobots:

thestoutorialist:

morerobots:

tried again to find that paper about racism in LC subject headings. it was over a year ago, so it’s possible it’s been taken down but I found these:

Sanford Berman is a radical librarian, and passionate on the subject, and has a website devoted to this. On that site, I found a pdf titled “Three Decades since Prejudices and Antipathies: A Study of Changes in the Library of Congress Subject Headings” by Steven A. Knowlton. For some reason, accessing Berman’s actual website just gave me a blank page.

There was a conference on the bibliographic control of Afro-American literature in the 1970s (and presumably mentions LC subject headings). Volume 1 and Volume 2. If you look at the full record, you can see the paper titles that you can probably track down on your own via ILL or something if you’re interested in reading them. This is a post I found that elaborated on the conference a little bit, and led me to the volumes.

“Dewey deracialized: a critical race-theoretic perspective” by Jonathan Furner focuses on Dewey Decimal Classification but still interesting nonetheless.

This page from U of M has more bibliography on the matter.

Still disappointed though that I could find all of these but not that specific paper.

Here’s the thing. I do appreciate Sanford Berman’s work on subject headings etc. He seems to have done a lot of really solid work. Steven A. Knowlton & Jonathan Furner also have written some interesting articles.

Here’s the thing: they’re all white dudes. I’m not that interested in white dudes telling me about racism. I want to hear from librarians who are people of color (and not just E.J. Josey who was a bad ass, but c’mon now).

always surprised to see my posts still getting notes, but I’m reblogging this because The Stoutorialist made an excellent point about the profession. It is not only difficult to find information about racism in library classifications, but yeah, all I could find in a simple google search was done by white librarians.

Nov 19

When faced with a single search box on a page, from the user's point of view, it makes sense to just try to see what it does by keying in queries in the search box as opposed to trying to figure out what the search box is supposed to do by reading text.

kellymce:

lowscoreattack:

Another great post from Aaron Tay People usually laugh when I say that patrons don’t read signs but its mostly true. This post about search boxes covers the same ground.

THIS

(via megzam)

Nov 2

8bitstate:

From Walkingpaper.org:

“This is the graphic from the Portland Mercury encouraging readers to not make books sad and vote yes on 26-143.

Be sure to check out Libraries Yes, a good site with a great URL explaining what the Multnomah County Library does and providing info about establishing a library district.”

http://www.walkingpaper.org/5513

Oct 31

“Although the findings show some improvement in the diversity of the library workforce, we clearly have a long way to go,” stated Maureen Sullivan, ALA president. “To continue to serve the nation’s increasingly diverse communities, our libraries and the profession must reflect this diversity. We must continue to offer initiatives like ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship Program to recruit and educate librarians of color. We also must do the research necessary to discover effective ways to increase the numbers. This is a matter of urgency for all of us.”

American Library Association releases new data to update Diversity Counts report

ALA Press Release | American Library Association

(via sdiaz101)

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve spent a lot of time visiting libraries all over the country during the past few years, and I am often the only POC in a room full of librarians.

(via libraryjournal)

Oct 22

“People who live in communities without a cake pan collection can ask about an interlibrary loan, Rippel said, adding that people can check the Kansas Library Catalog online to find cake pans in libraries that have catalogued their collections.”

“Kansas libraries let people check out cake pans”

This is so fantastic. Libraries provide consumable ideas and aids for consumption. Sometimes our needs can come in the way of being able to visit the library purely for the pleasure of books. With it being the only safe, free, public space for intellectual progression, the library is becoming more and more “practical” by providing classes, computers, and now kitchen items for lending. What do you wish your library had? And conversely, are there any potential collection materials that could jeopardize a library’s function?

(via livefromthenypl)

Hey wow that … RULES. I LOVE THE LIBRARY SO MUCH. My local branch has memberships to a few different arts institutions in the area; I think they were donated by a patron or someone on the board. So like, last year I was able to “check out” the membership card to a local arboretum and visit it with my boyfriend for free. <3

(via thelalatheory)

Oct 12

Call For Book Donations, New York Public Library, c.1918

(via megzam)

Sep 26

punkassbookjockey:

youtastelikenachos:

Am I being a feminist killjoy if I complain that even foursquare sexualizes my profession?

Kill it! I will hold your earrings! Got my Crown Royal bag right here!
Seriously, tiresome. I have worked in customer service jobs my entire life and have never received more unwanted comments or advances than I have when working in (public) libraries. Or comments about my appearance, for that matter. It’s like as a public servant, you’re there to take what Joe Public is dishing out. And I’m not even that cute, you guys! Fortunately I’ve never dealt with anyone who didn’t correct behavior when ignored or called on it, but I have seen situations escalate to awful for several coworkers, which makes this even more cringeworthy, if not outright infuriating.

Please! Let us wear our FEMINIST KILLJOY badges with pride.

(via megzam)

Library Jawn

This is a jawn about libraries
by Poliana Irizarry

Librarian Docs: Headings for Indian Tribes Recognized by the U.S. Government

Clarifications in re Indian Tribe LCSH

When faced with a single search box on a page, from the user's point of view, it makes sense to just try to see what it does by keying in queries in the search box as opposed to trying to figure out what the search box is supposed to do by reading text.

American Library Association releases new data to update Diversity Counts report

Library Jawn

This is a jawn about libraries by Poliana Irizarry

Librarian Docs: Headings for Indian Tribes Recognized by the U.S. Government

Clarifications in re Indian Tribe LCSH

When faced with a single search box on a page, from the user's point of view, it makes sense to just try to see what it does by keying in queries in the search box as opposed to trying to figure out what the search box is supposed to do by reading text.

American Library Association releases new data to update Diversity Counts report

This is a jawn about libraries
by Poliana Irizarry