Critical Cataloging – Utah Library Association

Year of Learning

The January Year of Learning challenge was “Highlighting Diverse Authors.” The on-demand Let’s Talk Race Literacy Kits training provided race education resources, and a step-by-step plan for developing kits on your own. During our monthly meetup the attendees had a thoughtful discussion about the benefits and challenges of promoting diverse authors, illustrators, and titles in all types of libraries. The monthly challenge was to highlight diverse authors in your collection.

During the month of February, library equity partners, the Utah Library Association and Utah State Library will focus on Critical Cataloging. The topic was kicked off by our best attended YOL event so far! Jane Sandberg attended our United in Diversity Book Club featuring Jane’s book, Ethical Questions in Name Authority Control. Bob Maxwell, HBLL Cataloger, did a wonderful job hosting the session.

I hope you continue to take advantage of the monthly opportunities to learn, interact, and take action, leading up to the ULA 2022 Annual Conference. Explore the Year of Learning Hub to familiarize yourself with the year long “United in Diversity | Unida en la Diversidad” curriculum.

Rita Christensen (She/Her/Hers)
ULA President, 2021-2022

February 2022: Critical Cataloging

LEARN Webinar: Change the Subject Documentary – Dartmouth Library – On Demand. No human being is illegal. When Dartmouth College students challenged anti-immigrant language in the Library of Congress, their activism sparked a movement—and a cataloging term became a flashpoint in the immigration debate on Capitol Hill. Watch this film and learn why “words are also actions.” [View Now]

DISCUSS Zoom Meetup: Critical Cataloging – Jessie Christensen – Thursday, February 24, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m. Before February 24th, take some time to watch the Change the Subject Documentary. This film documents a group of Dartmouth College students who challenged anti-immigrant language used by the Library of Congress. Their actions led to debates about immigration on Capitol Hill. Then, on Thursday, February 24th join us for a discussion about what you’ve learned and brainstorm ideas for next steps. [Register Now]

TAKE ACTION: Look up the subject headings that the documentary references and see if your library uses them. Post what you learned and how you shared it in the Slack Discussion.