Finding the Right Words

In Summer 2021, UCO Chambers Library's catalogers crafted an inclusive metadata statement. Our presentation will provide an overview of the process, recommendations for creating your own statement, and the challenges of important terminology being misappropriated as buzzwords (e.g. "decolonizing" the catalog)N

Drafting the inclusive metadata statement

Offensive/outdated terminology in library cataloging standards has been discussed for some years now, particularly around the subject heading “illegal aliens.” A recent trend in library cataloging and technical services departments has been to create public statements that acknowledging these problems to their communities and actions that have been or will be taken to address offensive/outdated terminology found in our standards. The professional catalogers at the University of Central Oklahoma teamed up in summer 2021 to create such a statement, and this lightning talk will address why we created this statement, how we structured this statement, and our own steps for transforming words into actions.Max Chambers Librar

The Creation of the Tribal Nations of Oklahoma Metadata Database

In the closing discussions of last year's symposium the impromptu creation of the Metadata Justice Collective occurred. Those that volunteered to chair, Megan Macken, Lulu Zilinskas, and Kaitlyn Palone, met shortly thereafter about possible projects that could use collaborative work. Megan presented the idea to create a database of Oklahoma Tribal Nation preferred names. The speakers presented on how this work was accomplished, problems encountered, and plans for future

Forming the Oklahoma "Tornado" NACO Funnel

How do you know if the books by Robert Smith, Bob Smith, or Bobby Smith are the same author or not? Are you stuck in helping your patrons find a resource by the same John Doe? Catalogers are here to help you through the international Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO) steered by the Library of Congress by establishing authorized names to be used in library catalogs far and wide. In 2017, a small group of Oklahoma academic and public librarians came together to form the Oklahoma "Tornado" Funnel where catalogers trained with Jay Shorten of the University of Oklahoma Libraries to learn how to establish and disambiguate names, including names for people and entities in Oklahoma. Our poster will de-mystify the process of starting and joining a NACO funnel as well as showing how catalogers at the University of Central Oklahoma incorporated this new skill into their workflow to improve the quality of catalogs everywhere.NoMax Chambers Librar

Inclusive Metadata Strategies at Max Chambers Library

Max Chambers Library is committed to serving underrepresented communities. One way this is accomplished is through the professional catalogers' dedication to accurately and respectfully describing materials relating to underrepresented communities. They are actively taking steps to ameliorate these problematic practices that directly affect the Central community's access to library resources. In this presentation, the catalogers will describe various projects undertaken in the areas of offensive/outdated terminology, issues in classification, and retroactively and actively adding inclusive language to records.N