Bias in the Stacks: Seeking Justice on the Shelves

Words Matter. How has language reinforced bias in the ways we find information? Representing libraries and archives, hear from guests including Liz Kielley, Sarah K. Myers, Devin Manzullo-Thomas, Bernadette Lear, and Rob Lesher '93! We will meet in the cafe area.

To make materials findable, libraries have relied on subject headings and classification numbers to organize their resources. Have you ever wondered how these subjects or classification numbers were developed? Both the Dewey Decimal Classification and Library of Congress Classification were developed with a Western-centric, white, Christian, male perspective. How does the language we use in our subject headings reinforce marginalization? In what ways can libraries reconcile the inequalities found in these standardized policies to be inclusive of diverse and multicultural perspectives? What is Messiah’s Murray Library and other institutions doing to create balance?