We are committed to transparency in our processes as we undertake this work and we welcome critiques, concerns, questions, and input from our users. Please reach out to us if you encounter any problematic language or have feedback on our process via our feedback form.
To learn about our past, present, and future projects, see the Projects tab.
Email lib.dl.hlrwg@msu.edu
Current projects
RBMS Genre Terms for Prejudicial Works (started in 2024)
RBMS is the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries. An RBMS task force recently completed work on a greatly expanded vocabulary for prejudicial works -- "works that exhibit hostility toward or bias against a particular group or groups of people based on religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, creed, national origin, etc." There is a related term hate works -- "works that express hatred or advocate harm toward a particular group of people."
The term literature, as in hate literature, is more common, but works was chosen in order to cover visual materials, sound recordings, etc. The full list of terms is on pages 4-10 of the report linked from this page.
Many historical items in Special Collections are in the genre of prejudicial works, and some historical and current materials from the Arsenal Collection are in the genre of hate works. See Murray-Hong Special Collections' Statement on Potentially Harmful Material in the Collections.
We are currently applying genre terms for prejudicial works to songs, skits, and joke books for Blackface minstrel shows. The genre terms Blackface minstrel jokes or Blackface minstrel songs are added (for spoken vs. sung content respectively) as well as the genre term Racist caricatures.
Homosaurus International Thesaurus (started in 2023)
The Homosaurus International Thesaurus is a vocabulary developed for describing information resources on LGBTQ+ topics. Library of Congress subject headings for LGBTQ+ topics are often outdated and too broad for effective searching. The Homosaurus vocabulary was developed by an international team of LGBTQ+ librarians and archivists with input from throughout the LGBTQ+ world. It is continually updated, usually 2 releases a year.
At MSU we use Homosaurus for both current work and "retrospective" cataloging, where we look back at previously cataloged works and update the record to current standards.
Current cataloging: View the slides for our staff members' introductory Homosaurus training
Retrospective cataloging: Four librarians started a pilot project in 2024 to apply Homosaurus terms to early LGBTQ+ works in Special Collections. The goal is to determine where headings can be changed globally and where records will have to be edited one at a time.
Local Chicano & Latino headings for Special Collections holdings (started in 2013; ongoing)
In 2013, we began cataloging the Chicano/a Latino/a Posters Collection. The Library of Congress subject headings for Chicanos and Latinos are “Mexican Americans” and “Hispanic Americans” respectively. We use the LCSH terms, but also add searchable local subject headings for the terms Chicanos and Latinos. This project is ongoing.
Name authority records from underrepresented groups (ongoing)
The MSU Libraries are committed to collecting materials by authors from underrepresented groups across the world. When we have enough information to do so, we submit names of persons and organizations to the Library of Congress Name Authority File. This project has no start or end date, because we continually identify authors needing name authority records as we catalog new materials. (What are name authority records?)
Completed projects
Native American foodways reclassification (2024)
MSU Special Collections has 45,000 cookbooks, one of the largest collections in the world. Nearly all cookbooks have a call number in the range TX642 to TX840 (Home economics -- Cooking.) However, cookbooks by Native American authors, or collections of recipes from Native American cultures, were classed in E98-E99 with Native American history.
Placing current cultural materials in a history class implies that Native American food traditions exist only in the past, which is not correct. These materials were recently reclassified (that is, given new call numbers) to the TX642-840 range with all other cookbooks.
Removing transsexual headings (2024)
Although our Homosaurus pilot project is still underway, an early conclusion was that all headings using transsexual or variant word endings should be replaced with transgender equivalents, and that the edits could be done globally. This was completed in late 2024.
"Illegal aliens" project (2019)
The LCSH term “Illegal aliens” gained notoriety in 2016 when the House of Representatives prohibited the Library of Congress from changing the term. Nevertheless, many libraries opted to change the term in their local catalogs, including MSU. We decided to follow the Library of Congress' original plan to use the term noncitizens instead of illegal aliens. A task force worked out our local procedures for making this change.
For more information, see the Wikipedia article or the Report of the SAC Working Group on Alternatives to LCSH "Illegal aliens".
Community cataloging project (2019)
In a joint effort, MSU Libraries catalogers and the African Studies librarian worked with the Lansing Refugee Development Center to identify local speakers of African languages who were interested in working short-term at MSU. In October 2019, seven community members came to campus and partnered with eight catalogers, working together to transliterate and select subject headings for 43 titles in Arabic, Amharic, Hausa, Wolof, and Swahili. These materials are not widely available among North American libraries -- therefore they strengthen the cultural record in a traditionally underrepresented area.
This project was recognized in our 2020 Library Staff Awards.
Content warnings for historical materials
The University Archives and Historical Collections (UAHC) developed a content warning which appears on their home page, resource guides, On the Banks of the Red Cedar website, and other locations. In addition, the Repository Team is adding the content warning to collections in the Digital Repository, e.g. the Civil War collections.
Murray-Hong Special Collections also developed a content warning: Statement on Potentially Harmful Material in the Collections.