Colorado College Libraries are committed to creating an inclusive environment that respects, appreciates, and enriches all individuals and groups in our diverse community. To that end the libraries have created statements on inclusive cataloging and the ethical implications of working with e-resource vendors.

Statement on Inclusive Cataloging Practices

Tutt Library and Seay Music Library are committed to the ongoing practice of creating more inclusive and antiracist methods of describing our bibliographic records. The creation and management of metadata is not a neutral activity. Library staff understand the frameworks of national and international standards in which we work have served to reify and uphold historical biases, white supremacy, colonialism, the marginalization of sexual orientations and gender identities, and other forms of oppression. While we will continue to work within the parameters of national and international standards and organizations, we pledge as creators and managers to make metadata more inclusive by: 

• Questioning the hierarchical structures of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Library of Congress Classification (LCC). 
• Proposing changes and additions to LCSH and LCC that promote more inclusive and accurate access to works by and about marginalized groups. 
• Keeping abreast of and implementing vocabularies from alternative subject and genre thesauri to create a discovery environment in which library users can more easily find and access information created for and about marginalized voices.  

• Seeking opportunities to partner with other institutions who are similarly committed to improving LCSH. We will accomplish this through our participation in the Subject Authority Cooperative Program (SACO) of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC).   

In support of the College’s commitment to antiracism, this work will help contextualize our materials and allow for greater discovery of items representing marginalized voices. 

CC BY Colorado College Tutt Library  

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Ethical Implications of Working with E-Resource Vendors

Colorado College Libraries subscribe to electronic resources (such as, databases, e-journal collections, and ebooks), and these resources aren't exempt from historical biases, white supremacy, colonialism, the marginalization of sexual orientations and gender identities, and other forms of oppression. Sometimes vendors gather information about users during the use of some of these resources without their knowledge or permission. Moreover, these vendors sometimes leverage this collected data and as well as the database content to form partnerships with organizations whose values do not align with Colorado College Libraries.  

To encourage vendors to respect the privacy of users, the Colorado College Libraries, via the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, endorses the International Coalition of Library Consortia’s Privacy Guidelines for Electronic Resources Vendors. In cases where an electronic resources vendor does not follow these guidelines, the Collection Development Working Group will explore alternatives that are financially sustainable and meet the same need.  

Direct Action for Library Users 

Direct action can be taken by pressuring vendors to discontinue this unethical behavior.   

Please sign this petition disavowing LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters relationships to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): http://notechforice.com/lawletter/