Statement of Acknowledgement

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Libraries hold a broad range of items in our collections. Part of organizing and describing these materials includes the use of standardized metadata, such as Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Canadian Subject Headings (CSH), that reflect the biases and norms of the time in which the items and/or descriptions were created. These metadata can include offensive, harmful, outdated language in their titles and descriptions, and/or may depict individuals or groups, particularly those who are marginalized, in a negative way.

To ensure these attitudes and viewpoints are not erased from the historical record, and to preserve and accurately present historical materials, we acknowledge the value of historic terminologies in tandem with today’s user discovery needs. While we will retain legacy terminology within the record to facilitate retrieval, we are committed to actively working on updating catalogue language to contextualize records, name instances of discrimination, and use descriptive language that respects the people and events represented in the material. We also recognize that the national and international cataloguing standards that we use to categorize these materials uphold the library’s place as a colonial institution that contributes to ongoing oppression and white supremacy.

We are undertaking efforts to remediate the issue and are pursuing actions to reduce the presence of harmful language in our descriptive metadata. In most cases, harmful language will be present in thousands of older bibliographic records that were created many years ago, therefore reviewing and correcting existing records will be a complex and ongoing process. The actions we are taking include:

  1. Updating our cataloguing policies and procedures and implementing practices of critical cataloguing that emphasize cataloguers’ role in ensuring unbiased and respectful bibliographic description in our records. We use the Cataloguing Code of Ethics as the primary guide on ethical issues in metadata creation.  
  2. Working with provincial and national partners to support initiatives on decolonizing descriptive practices (e.g. OCUL, LAC, NIKLA, CRKN, CFLA-FCAB).
  3. Implementing the use of relevant vocabularies of inclusive and respectful terminology in our cataloguing practices, such as the updated Canadian Subject Headings Related to Indigenous Peoples, MAIN Indigenous Subject Headings, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Indigenous Ontologies (FNMIIO), and more.
  4. Reviewing all feedback we receive and updating records containing offensive descriptions. 

If you encounter language that you find discriminatory in our research guides, catalogue records, digitized collections, exhibitions, or elsewhere, or if you have questions about our metadata work, we welcome your feedback. Please complete the Problematic Language in the Library Catalogue form.

Related TMU Libraries statements and resources:

Acknowledgement: This statement was prepared using examples of similar statements by Western Libraries and University of Ottawa Library.

[June 12, 2024]