RESOLUTION
WHEREAS: Language, description, and knowledge hold meaning and power;
WHEREAS: Library description systems and structures are not universal or neutral and contain the inherent biases of their creators who operate from places of privilege and power;
WHEREAS: Structures that are intended to facilitate the discovery of resources in the MSU Libraries (subject or genre terms) may carry connotations that are demeaning, marginalizing, offensive, or harmful to underrepresented groups or individuals within these systems;
WHEREAS: Higher education and its libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions have upheld these structures and terms in the description and organization of library resources, both historically and presently; and the work of providing access to and facilitating discovery of millions of existing resources in these institutions is made possible through historic and continued usage of this data and reliance on
national knowledge organization systems;
WHEREAS: We are supported by the Libraries' Strategic Plan, which emphasizes considering the impact of our work on creators, researchers, and communities, and acknowledging the power we have as creators of description;
MSU LIBRARIES THEREFORE RESOLVES:
TO: Recognize our own position of power and tacit involvement in reproducing oppressive structures and our responsibility to effect change through our daily work;
TO: Educate ourselves on our own biases in approaching library resource description and management;
TO: Call out and work against biases in our local application of national standards and descriptions that fortify the Eurocentric philosophies that often reinforce and uphold white supremacy, sexism, ableism, the settler-colonizer narrative, discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community, and other forms of exclusion;
TO: Work to identify, change, and/or eradicate harmful language used in our local catalog descriptions. And to consult communities in the description of themselves and their created resources where appropriate and possible;
TO: Advocate for and actively pursue, through official channels, changes in the national standards and knowledge organization systems where we have identified harmful, oppressive, or marginalizing language and/or assumptions;
TO: Commit to transparency in our processes as we undertake this work and we welcome critiques, concerns, questions, and input from our users. Please use our feedback form.
Endorsed by the Libraries' Executive Council on February 28, 2022.