Ross, Staci and Cronquist, Michelle
(2021)
Black Subject Headings in LCSH: Successes and Challenges of the African American Subject Funnel Project.
In: Core Virtual Interest Group Week, Virtual.
Abstract
The African American Subject Funnel Project was recently revitalized and is actively contributing new and improved terminology related to the African American experience to the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Our membership includes a diverse mix of catalogers and subject specialists who work collaboratively on subject heading proposals. Historically, only a small group of catalogers have felt empowered to contribute to LCSH, but we have worked to democratize participation in the Subject Authority Cooperative Program (SACO) through training and mentorship of Funnel members. Including the perspective of subject experts, public service librarians, and staff of diverse institutions greatly improves LCSH for everyone. We will discuss our successes as well as the challenges that arise when trying to update a very old controlled vocabulary to align with our antiracist goals. LCSH generally centers whiteness and marginalizes the experiences of people of color. It is often shockingly lacking in concepts related to the Black experience, even those that are well-documented in library materials. Existing language in LCSH often needs to be updated to be more inclusive. And in some cases, existing subject heading policy actually hides materials about racism. We will discuss how the Funnel has successfully introduced new terminology that provides a broader look at Black and African American experiences, and how we have proposed changes to existing terminology which empowers contemporary users to confidently employ LCSH in their information needs.
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