Wikipedia List of African American Writers and Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT)

Presenter discussed an investigation into using Wikipedia to identify author characteristics in order to enhance bibliographic records using terminology from the new controlled vocabulary, Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT). The project\u27s focus is African American writers

Contextualizing Performers in Circus Route Books: Linked Data Entities and Open Data

The presentation will discuss the final phase of the 4-year project Step Right Up: Digitizing Over 100 Years of Circus Route Books made possible by the Digitizing Hidden Collections program, a national grant competition administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources and supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This segment of the project concentrated on making data open and reusable to aid in optimal discoverability and create data relationships with the collection. The culmination of these efforts resulted in the digital humanities project, Agency through Otherness: Portraits of Performers in Circus Route Books 1875-1925. This exhibition explores identities of circus performers and features essays, images, interactive timelines, and map data visualizations of circus routes with Native Lands, historical railroads, and population data. The presentation will focus on how this project reached beyond traditional cataloging and metadata techniques to new tools to provide access to the collection. The project also exemplifies how sharing data and open data can allow others to build new knowledge in imaginative ways to foster engagements and digital inclusion

Wikipedia and Libraries: Improving Metadata Through Collaboration

Presenters will discuss their investigation into using Wikipedia to identify author characteristics in order to enhance bibliographic records using terminology from the new controlled vocabulary, Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT). Focusing on African American writers, the session will discuss workflows, ethical issues, and opportunity cost in assigning LCDGT terms using citations showing self-identification to satisfy Library of Congress standards

Learning from Each Other: Reciprocity in Description Between Wikipedians and Librarians

Librarians, archivists, and museum professionals are increasingly realizing the value of using and contributing information to Wikipedia through projects such as edit-a-thons and the 1Lib1Ref project. As the amount of knowledge in Wikipedia and Wikidata grows, the benefits to libraries in partnering with Wikimedia projects to enhance their own bibliographic records and catalog search results also increase. Conversely, librarians have created an immense number of bibliographic and authority records that Wikipedia and Wikidata editors can use both as resources in and of themselves and as examples of various approaches to metadata and knowledge creation. Despite some challenges there are numerous benefits for working to integrate library data with Wikipedia more closely. This chapter will serve to highlight differences between Wikipedia resources and library catalog records, and how librarians and Wikipedians can learn from each other to improve description and discoverability in both Wikipedia and library catalogs for their respective users. It will also illustrate differences between these two systems in order to reduce confusion and errors when data are merged uncritically. The discussion draws on experience gained from a previous Illinois State University Research Grant-funded project that used the Wikipedia List of African-American writers to enhance library catalog records

Using the Cataloguing Code of Ethics Principles for a Retrospective Project Analysis

This study uses the recently released Cataloguing Code of Ethics to evaluate a project which explored how to ethically, efficiently, and accurately add demographic terms for African American authors to catalog records. By reviewing the project through the lens of these principles the authors were able to examine how their practice was ethical in some ways but could have been improved in others. This helped them identify areas of potential improvement in their current and future research and practice and explore ethical difficulties in cataloging resources with records that are used globally, especially in a linked data environment

Applying Library of Congress Demographic Group Characteristics for Creators

This research project explores how to ethically, efficiently, and accurately add demographic terms for African American authors to catalog records. A Department of History graduate student located evidence of self-identification as African American for authors, and catalogers added the demographic term to bibliographic records and are in the process of creating work level Name Title Authority Records for titles written by those authors. This work is the beginning of systematically enhancing catalog data with author characteristics to support making such information available in faceted results

Native Performance and Agency in the Wild West Show

The Wild West has been romanticized and criticized as historical American trope. Much of this idea is based on the Wild West shows of Buffalo Bill, Pawnee Bill, and other traveling circus shows throughout the late 19th and early 20th century. Often these shows functioned as propaganda for American imperialism, condoning and perpetuating cultural genocide against Native American populations. The presentation will use autobiographical information to explore how many Native American Wild West performances and exhibits worked subversively to critique racist American institutions. Exhibits like the 1904 World\u27s Fair placed Native performers of the Wild West show in stark contrast to the Indian Boarding Schools of the day, undermining the school\u27s white supremacist project. Exploring the individual lives of performers such as Samuel Lone Bear, Tom Yellow Thunder, and Lone Elk beyond the wild west show, I assert the agency and subversive strategies of Native performers. Ultimately, this presentation seeks to further redefine US notions of \u27Wild West. This research was conducted for the digital humanities exhibit, Agency through Otherness: Portraits of Performers in Circus Route Books 1875-1925. The exhibit is the final segment of the Council on Library and Information Resources grant project, Step Right Up: Digitizing Over 100 Years of Circus Route Books with collaborating institutions the Circus World Museum and The Ringling Archives

Sideshow Sounds: Black Bandleaders Respond to Exoticism

Everyone knows P. G. Lowery, broadcaster of African-American music. Less known are those whose sideshow leadership predates that of Lowery. The pioneering entrepreneurial-entertainment legacy of bandleaders like Solomon P. White, J. 0. McNutt, and James Wolfscale set the stage for Lowery\u27s phenomenal success. This presentation investigates their personal histories in the context of mainstream and circus cultures; their indispensable contribution to the success of the circus and the popularization of African-American music; and their role as the sinew of African-American communities through newspaper distribution and correspondence. Black sideshow bands-first documented in 1881 within Milner Library\u27s Circus Route Books Digital Collection, were relegated to the circus annex, constrained by compounding layers of liminality. Sideshows housed those performers labeled as exotic, and musicians were expected to perform as such. This presentation details how Black musicians responded to their forced otherness, highlighting their agency within a confined stage. Through ingenious spectacles, they deployed the marketing of exoticism onto the audience\u27s desire for the novel and the authentic. Possessing both musical and managerial skills, they utilized their market share to transform themselves from employees to autonomous business owners. This research was conducted for the digital humanities exhibit, Agency through Otherness: Portraits of Performers in Circus Route Books 1875-1925. The exhibit is the final segment of the Council on Library and Information Resources grant project, Step Right Up: Digitizing Over 100 Years of Circus Route Books with collaborating institutions the Circus World Museum and The Ringling Archives

The Heart of a Library: Getting to Know Each Other

Starting a new job is overwhelming! New employees can feel isolated and disconnected without concerted effort by library colleagues, limiting their ability to create meaningful partnerships.  Milner Library grappled with these challenges when a cohort of new employees arrived in summer 2020. Milner’s new mentoring program began to organize a series of virtual information sessions to increase awareness of different library departments. In the Getting to Know Milner series, presenters highlighted partnerships and the interconnectedness of library activities. Collaborators in the audience were able to see the value of their work reflected in their colleagues\u27 presentations. These sessions illustrated the importance of the library as a community and the merit of a unified approach. Library work extends beyond individual departments. This series emphasized that one’s place in a library is in many places. Interdepartmental conversations have increased, which is beginning to bridge longstanding gaps. The informal feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with fruitful participation and attendance. Both new and long-time employees have connected with their colleagues and have gained a deeper appreciation for what makes their library unique. At the heart of it, this series has built a stronger community at Milner Library

Thinking Outside the Dyad: Incorporating Cohort-Based Experiences into Mentorship

A benefit of the traditional one-to-one, hierarchical mentoring relationship is the individualized attention and guidance the mentor provides the mentee. This singular mentoring relationship can be effective but is not always sufficient in addressing institutional acculturation and meeting personal needs of the new employee. This paper discusses how an emergent mentoring program at Milner Library blended the dyadic mentoring relationship with cohort-based programming to create a space for participants to learn from colleagues across departments, share experiences, and consider psychosocial issues. These grassroots programming efforts have cultivated holistic engagement and renewed community